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CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Accentuate the positive, no matter how bad your child's report card: expert
Dec 2, 2006
Teresa Latchford, Staff Writer
(York Region) - It's that time of year again, when your child has a surprise for you. Coming home from school it can be one of two ways: your child excitedly shoves a white envelop in your hand waiting for you to drop everything and open it or it sits in his school bag until you find it.
Report cards. Whether your child received an excellent or mediocre report, there are things you can do to encourage students to continue excelling or support those who need to improve.
The first step for a parent should be to take report cards seriously, suggests Stuart Ackerman, founder of Ackerman Education Consulting.
A report card can be used as a liaison tool to begin a discussion between a parent, child and teacher. It is also important for a parent to have the right attitude when discussing grades.
"If your child brings home a good report card, let him know you're proud of his accomplishments," Mr. Ackerman explained.
"If it doesn't meet your expectations, find a way to encourage and praise your child (to improve)."
It is important to celebrate successes, no matter how small they are, so the child knows he is doing something positive, explained Dr. Lyn Sharroatt, superintendent of curriculum and instructional services for the York Region District School Board.
"The next step would be to look for areas needing improvement and clarifying the needs of your child to make sure their needs are understood," she added.
A good rule of thumb when talking to a child about improving grades is to start by pointing out one positive aspect of the report card such as attendance, social skills, a high grade or positive teacher comments, Mr Ackerman said.
But before embarking on the journey of discussion, a parent must fully understand how to correctly read and understand the document.
There is more information than just grades which may produce trends which can be discussed or problems which can be solved.
"If your child got a good grade and great conduct in one class and poor grades and bad conduct in another, take a look at the differences between those classes," Mr. Ackerman said.
If you can spot the trend or problem, work with the child and the teacher to improve the situation. A child may be sitting in the wrong spot in the classroom, have a problem understanding the information or even a peer relationship issue.
While discussing a poor report card, talk openly about his challenges and be sure to express poor grades does not mean he is a failure, he said. There may be reasons for his performance that have nothing to do with his ability or intelligence.
"Remember, failure is a scary thing for any child," he added.
One thing to pay attention to is homework routines. A poor grade can reflect disorganization and poor routines rather than a lack of knowledge or skill.
Mr. Ackerman suggests creating a place where your child leaves his or her agenda when he returns home from school for you to examine and check homework off as it is completed before he watches TV.
As for a good report card, you should never assume your child is giving it his best effort. There are other areas to improve on besides the grade. For example, a child could need improvement in initiative, socialization or participation.
For more tips, check out www.tutorgiant.com
Accentuate the positive, no matter how bad your child's report card: expert
Dec 2, 2006
Teresa Latchford, Staff Writer
(York Region) - It's that time of year again, when your child has a surprise for you. Coming home from school it can be one of two ways: your child excitedly shoves a white envelop in your hand waiting for you to drop everything and open it or it sits in his school bag until you find it.
Report cards. Whether your child received an excellent or mediocre report, there are things you can do to encourage students to continue excelling or support those who need to improve.
The first step for a parent should be to take report cards seriously, suggests Stuart Ackerman, founder of Ackerman Education Consulting.
A report card can be used as a liaison tool to begin a discussion between a parent, child and teacher. It is also important for a parent to have the right attitude when discussing grades.
"If your child brings home a good report card, let him know you're proud of his accomplishments," Mr. Ackerman explained.
"If it doesn't meet your expectations, find a way to encourage and praise your child (to improve)."
It is important to celebrate successes, no matter how small they are, so the child knows he is doing something positive, explained Dr. Lyn Sharroatt, superintendent of curriculum and instructional services for the York Region District School Board.
"The next step would be to look for areas needing improvement and clarifying the needs of your child to make sure their needs are understood," she added.
A good rule of thumb when talking to a child about improving grades is to start by pointing out one positive aspect of the report card such as attendance, social skills, a high grade or positive teacher comments, Mr Ackerman said.
But before embarking on the journey of discussion, a parent must fully understand how to correctly read and understand the document.
There is more information than just grades which may produce trends which can be discussed or problems which can be solved.
"If your child got a good grade and great conduct in one class and poor grades and bad conduct in another, take a look at the differences between those classes," Mr. Ackerman said.
If you can spot the trend or problem, work with the child and the teacher to improve the situation. A child may be sitting in the wrong spot in the classroom, have a problem understanding the information or even a peer relationship issue.
While discussing a poor report card, talk openly about his challenges and be sure to express poor grades does not mean he is a failure, he said. There may be reasons for his performance that have nothing to do with his ability or intelligence.
"Remember, failure is a scary thing for any child," he added.
One thing to pay attention to is homework routines. A poor grade can reflect disorganization and poor routines rather than a lack of knowledge or skill.
Mr. Ackerman suggests creating a place where your child leaves his or her agenda when he returns home from school for you to examine and check homework off as it is completed before he watches TV.
As for a good report card, you should never assume your child is giving it his best effort. There are other areas to improve on besides the grade. For example, a child could need improvement in initiative, socialization or participation.
For more tips, check out www.tutorgiant.com