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TIPS For Families |
Written by: Myrna DuBois Most of us want our children to learn as much as possible, enjoy school,
and do well. There are some things we can do to help that along – to
guide our children towards success. Time and Space - We need to be sure our children are home enough to
get their work done. Whether it is their own activities, or the agenda of
the parents, some children just don’t get in enough home work time. They need
a place to do that homework. Even though many children insist they can do
their work in front of the TV, that is probably a ploy to get to watch TV.
Most people cannot concentrate enough on school work to do a good job while
absorbed in a TV program at the same time. Parents need to turn off the TV,
too, and not assume that junior can work alone in his room while Dad’s watching
Monday night football. Freedom to Be – This is a pretty complex topic. First of all, children
need to be free from conflicts, troubled relationships, and difficult
lives. If their lives are tied up with all these issues, it’s pretty
hard to have enough left to concentrate on school. Secondly, parents
need to recognize that not everyone learns the same way, and not everyone
can feel comfortable with learning if they aren’t allowed to learn in
their own way. Example – an educator had divided a group of teenagers
by personality styles and had given them an assignment that included
“express yourselves”. Most of the kids jumped right in, but one group
of kids just shook their heads and looks discouraged. Finally, the
educator realized that another adult who was sitting at the table with
that group was telling them “no silly stuff”, “be sure it’s nice and
neat”. How could they possibly express themselves when expressing themselves
would be some silly stuff and some rather flamboyant art work? Once
freed from the restraints of the adult with a different personality
type, they blossomed and completed the assignment with enthusiasm. Attitude for Learning. Sometimes we get ideas ingrained into our
heads that prevent us from learning beyond a certain level. One of those
ideas might be “I’m not smart enough.” All of us need to understand that learning
has more to do with attitude than it does with aptitude. In other words,
if you work hard, it can help overcome any limitations you may have with brain
power. Or you may have a great brain but waste it away on idleness. Another
idea that sometimes hinders learning is pre-conceived notions about the subject
matter. For example, if a child believes that fractions are useless, he/she
will probably have difficulties with math. Parents can help their children learn better and more readily if they provide
adequate time and space, if they help promote freedom to be, and if
theyencourage an attitude for learning. For more TIPS for Families, go to unlforfamilies.unl.edu.
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