Working
together for children
By
Rachna Buxani, Counselling
Services Coordinator, GEMS group of schools
 One
of the most complex relationships we can have is to be the
parent of a school-aged child. And I’m not talking about the
relationship with our child, but with the school he or she
attends. Most
parents understand the importance of being actively involved in
their child’s education. It is important the parents and the
school authorities work hand in hand to ensure the success of
the child. However,
some parents find it difficult to become involved with their
child’s school. A good relationship with your child's teacher is essential in order for
you to work together to nurture and educate your child. There are a number of ways to make sure that you’re a
positive force in your children’s education.
Get to know
your child’s school:
Make
an appointment to visit your child’s school. During your visit
look around the school, talk to the principal and your child’s
teachers. Find out what your child’s school mission statement
is, how they plan to accomplish those goals, and what problems
they encounter. Make it clear that as a parent, you would like
to be an integral part of your child’s education, which means
that the schools’ well being is of interest to you.
Communicate
with your child’s teachers:
You don’t
have to wait for an open house at the school to meet your
child’s teachers. Go
ahead and schedule a meeting to discuss any concerns. These meetings are a two-way street. Just as you’re there
to learn more about how your child is performing in the school
setting, teachers are interested in learning about any issues at
home that may be affecting the child school performance.
You can also periodically telephone your children’s
teachers throughout the school years to find out how your
children are performing in their classes. Find out whether your
children are:
- Completing
their in-class work, homework and projects.
- Preparing
and studying for quizzes and tests
- Performing
well
- Working
to their potential
- Developing
the competencies and skills necessary to demonstrate
academic achievement.
Work
with your children at home:
No matter how
well they are doing in school, they could probably still benefit
from your advice and participation at home.
Many school require planners of some sort for students
providing the students (and teachers) with one central location
to write down all homework assignments, upcoming tests and
projects. Check
your child’s planner on a regular basis to see whether or not
your child has homework. You could also use the planner as a
means to convey messages to your child’s teachers and receive
information from them.
Attend
Open Houses/Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Far from one
more burdening activity in an already over-scheduled life, open
houses can actually provide a wealth of information to the
parents. This is a
great opportunity for parents to meet not only their
children’s class teachers but also the school counselor, the
principal and other staff. You’ll get a valuable insight on
your child’s performance from all parties concerned.
In open houses you’ll get a chance to follow your
child’s schedule by actually going to all their classes,
allowing you an ideal opportunity to meet all of your
child’s teachers in one fell swoop. The
purpose of the school conference is to find out how well your
child is doing, what her strengths and weaknesses are, and what
you can do to help your child learn effectively.
Become
active in school:
You can
volunteer to help out at field trips and school concerts.
This will provide you further inroads into becoming more
closely involved with your children’s education.
If you’ve got the time, energy or the talents, these
can be excellent ways to show your children you’re truly
involved in their school lives.
Active
parenting takes time, but the time you spend helping your
children be personally and academically successful will return
benefits to you tenfold. Your
positive involvement and time is directly related to helping
students of today become tomorrow’s successful adults.
Photo
courtesy: parent-education.com
Rachna
Buxani, with an M.Ed in School Counseling from Suffolk
University in Boston and a B.A. in Psychology with a
concentration in Child and Youth from Eastern Connecticut State
University, USA has specialised in Middle and High School
Counseling. Rachna's expertise is in assessment and management
of problems related to adolescence. She writes regularly on parenting issues on
womenone.or, and answers to readers' queries related to it.
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Vandana
Soni says
Just
to add on some more ways to get involved in your child’s
education:
Drop
and pick your child from school whenever you can. This provides
an opportunity to interact with school authorities, teachers and
other parents who regularly visit the school.
Non-working
moms can volunteer in class to help their child’s teacher in
planning and organising. This can be done once or twice a week
and will be of great help to your child’s homeroom teacher.
Parents
can also volunteer in the school library, tuck shop and for
morning assemblies. All this will give you a chance to know the
school environment very closely and maintain a healthy and sound
relationship with your child’s school.
Schools
can organise a coffee morning for parents who volunteer in
school on a regular basis to appreciate their time and
efforts.
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