1. Developing Your thinking ability. Ideally, the school work you perform should be guiding you toward developing Your thinking ability and Your thinking structure.
If you’re child has had a few failures, then help them taste the fruits of success. Perform their homework with them and review their assignments and exams with them also. If you don’t know the material then that would make for a perfect opportunity to explore the material together. Your child will be less intimidated by you if you actually don’t know the material. It’ll make for a fun environment for both of you to explore the answers and find the solutions to the questions of an assignment or an exam. If you do know the material then try to lead Your child through the learning process, rather than answering every question they have outright. Find the answers with them in their books or notes even if you know the answer off the top of Your head. Always remember the goal is for Your child to succeed in school and pay close attention to their methods of answering question in order to provide further guidance.
Doing well in school is directly related to how well you’re developing those skills Your classes are trying to develop. A well developed thinking structure is a key element to succeeding in school. 2. Building character. Being able to start from nothing (or some general knowledge) and go toward achieving something builds Your character. Succeeding in school allows you to see first hand how you can achieve what you set Your mind to. 3. Advancing in Your academic studies. Succeeding in school allows you access to the opportunities most others don’t have. For example, being placed in an advanced class where you could learn more and hone Your thinking ability even further. Another example is being awarded scholarships and grants that will pay for Your continued education.
In this blog, the sixth installment in a series in which I have discussed various things parents can do to help their child be successful in school (such as a healthy life style, plenty of sleep, a supportive relationship with Your child, successful study habits, and getting involved in Your child’s education) I will discuss some of the ways you can help foster a growth mindset in Your child. According to Dr. Dweck, there are basically two ways to think about intelligence or talent: a ‘fixed mindset’, where you believe that you have what you are born with and that’s it, and a ‘growth mindset’, which is the idea that intelligence (or talent in something) is malleable and can change as a result of hard work.
With these six easy steps you can come a long way in fostering a growth mindset in Your child and help her on her way to become more successful in school. Dr. Dweck found that children with growth mindsets more readily take on new challenging tasks, have more fun figuring out new strategies to solve problems, are less afraid of failure and learn more from failure, and end up performing better than children with a fixed mindset. If you are interested in this topic and would like to find out more, I encourage you to read Dr. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset, The New Psychology of Success (also available in audiobook form).
Neuroscientific research in the past two decades has found plenty of evidence for the growth mindset: our brains change constantly as a result of our actions and our experiences. Dr. Dweck has found in her research that the way adults (parents and teachers) talk with children about intelligence and talent has profound effects on the mindset they develop, and she showed with her research that children who have a growth mindset are more successful at mastering new academic skills than children with a fixed mindset. Vickie Schafer posted a powerpoint presentation some time ago that summarizes Dr. Dweck’s research.
Why should you be equipped with coaching skills. Coaching skills are important to learn when working with adolescents. As children mature, they need less directive parenting and the freedom to develop independence and critical thinking skills to help them become mature, well-adjusted adults.Parents, educators, counselors, and administrators who want to improve effectiveness with students in 5-12 grade are encouraged to join.
On April 5, student success expert Maureen Breeze will be presenting the webinarParents as Coaches: Helping Your Child Succeed In School and Beyond. This webinar will teach parents the coaching model and how they can use coaching skills, like listening, observing, asking powerful questions, and acknowledging, as a parenting tool to help their children make effective decisions and guide them toward success and independence.
‘Little Pictures Have Big Ears,’ and will soak up what you say. As an educator and a mother it really surprised me how disrespectful some children are to their teachers and their parents for that matter (that’s a different article). If there is one thing I can stress to you about Your relationship with Your child’s teacher it is: please-no matter what Your issues are with the teacher- try not to discuss their downfalls while in front of Your child.
This step is very important. Most states have a set of standards and objectives that each county is required to teach in each subject for each grade level. It is important to know what Your child should be learning or covering this year for many reasons. If you know what is expected of Your child you can help by finding outside resources, books, websites and other tools to help Your child grasp the concepts they are being taught at school. Also, being familiar with Your state’s standards will help you understand why Your child’s teacher may assign certain types of projects or homework. It will also give you a clue as to whether Your child’s teacher is covering what needs to be covered in classroom lectures, discussions and projects. Knowing what is expected helps you appear knowledgeable if the need may arise for you to confront the board of education over an issue like too much homework or raising students’ test scores.
Even the smallest derogatory phrase can seem like a bright, beaming, green light to a child to lose all respect for the teacher. Once this occurs it will be a bumpy ride through out the school year, for every person involved. Not to mention it can make for a very awkward parent-teacher conference when Your child says, ”but Mom, you said she must be an idiot to assign that project.’ So if you have questions or issues with Your child’s teacher, take it up with the teacher, principal or other administrator but make sure that you do so away from Your child’s ears.
Despite these distinctions, experts have observed a link between ADHD and dyslexia. ‘Similar areas of the brain are involved in both disorders,’ explains Mather. They both appear to lead to problems with executive function, memory, and processing symbols quickly.
Distinguishing between ADHD and dyslexia may at first seem difficult, especially for a parent who has no experience with either disorder. Is Your child skipping words when reading because he cannot read them or because he is just speeding ahead. With ADHD making headlines, Your first thought might go toward attention problems rather than reading difficulties. But it is important to look at the whole picture when assessing Your child’s performance.
Another similarity is that children with these disorders often have normal to high intelligence and high creativity, but are frustrated academically. What’s different is how these disorders play out ‘ with dyslexia, it’s in terms of reading and writing difficulties, and with ADHD, it involves behavior.