| This Year’s Resolution: Get Involved! |
By: Mary Lee Shalvoy, Education Columnist
On 12/24/05
It’s time to make some resolutions for the New Year. Instead of providing a status report of my time during the holiday break to discuss whether I followed my own advice from last week’s column, I thought I’d share some tips on how to start getting involved in your child’s education.
| "Get your kid on a computer. Find our how much he or she uses it at school and follow up at home." |
If you already are involved, then keep up the good work. You already know the importance of parental participation. When you get involved, you show your child that school is important and can make an impression that will last a lifetime.
The first three tips I want to keep separate from the list. These are general rules and ones I don’t follow nearly enough in my own home (thus they are the first items on my personal resolution list):
- More sleep! Did you know that kids in first through fifth grades need between 10 and 11 hours of sleep each night to get the proper amount of rest? That’s according to the National Sleep Foundation and Dr. Andrew Weil.
- Better eating habits! That means a good, healthy breakfast, a healthy lunch, with snacks that aren’t sugary and a real dinner (fewer take-out meals). How many nights a week does your family sit down together for a meal? If it’s less than two, you might want to rethink the schedule
- More talking! I am going to work on having actual conversations with my kids. I want to listen more, yell less and set aside some time to just hang out, because that’s when all the good talking really happens.
The below ideas for getting involved are just launching pads for you to use:
- Ask questions about your child’s day at school. “What did you do at school today?” will only elicit a “Nothing” response. My favorite question is “What happened today?” I have received the most amazing information as the result of that question. Another query that always gets a good response is “Who got into trouble today?” Now I am not condoning gossip, but I discover so much about class dynamics and how the teacher handles different situations with the answer to that question. (Unfortunately, my twins always rat each other out.)
- Ask questions about homework, making sure that both you and your child are clear on deliverables.
- Read everything that comes home from school—report cards, homework assignments, school lunch plans, and vacation and bus schedules. If your kids are young enough, look through their backpacks for teacher notes. Check out any Web sites that may provide information.
- If you haven’t already, make a point of getting to know your child’s teachers and school principal. Attend school meetings and parent-teacher conferences. You might even call them in advance and bring them their favorite coffee drink or soda.
- Read your school’s handbook. If there isn’t one available, ask for copies of school policies (e.g., attendance, discipline). Ask questions about anything you do not understand.
- Volunteer! Help out in the classroom if you can, and be on hand for school activities and class trips. Attend sports events, help out with fundraisers, or volunteer to work in the school office.
- Get your kid on a computer. Find our how much he or she uses it at school and follow up at home.
- Encourage reading at home. Take a trip to the local library, bookstore or book fair and pick out books together. Choose books for each other to read.
- Find out when you can visit your child’s classroom during class time. Talk to the teacher or the school office about setting this up in advance. Get to know some of the other parents. If there is a parent organization, join it. If there isn’t one at your school, think about starting one. There will be other parents interested, just ask.
Remember that you are not alone in educating your child; consider yourself part of a team along with the teacher and other school staff. Being involved in a child’s education is just as important for stepparents, grandparents, and other adults who care for your child. Children model behavior, so your actions are just as important as your words. If you get involved, it shows them that they need to stay involved, too.
Happy New Year! May all your resolutions come true.
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