10 Easy Steps to Improve Your Child’s School Performance

Gratefully, the answer is, “Yes, absolutely!” Here are 10 things you can do right now to improve your child’s school performance. While some of these sound overly simple, bear in mind that these are also the 10 areas that can most often use improvement.

1. Be explicit about your expectations. Often, parents don’t tell their children that just “doing OK” or getting straight Cs is unacceptable. Make it clear that, while past grades can’t be changed, future grades can – and you expect better. (Don’t worry about their self-esteem. When they get better grades, their self-esteem will improve.) This can be expanded to an overall discussion of your child’s interests in careers and what education is required to pursue them. Talk about goals that took a lot of hard work, such as obtaining a driver’s license, getting a college degree, or buying a home. Help them understand that many worthwhile things take hard work, and they often involve doing things that they don’t want to do at the time.

2. Walk the talk. Many parents are already telling their kids to do well in school. “You’d better complete your homework,” “Study hard,” and related admonishments are already regularly said. But clear expectations need to be backed up by what you actually do. Telling a child to complete his or her homework does no good if every evening is filled with other activities. Take a good, hard look at your calendar and your child’s extracurricular activities. There should be regular time set aside for homework, both after school and on weekends. As the parent, you may have to step in and say “No” to some commitments to make room for more important academic work. In our do-it-all society, kids’ schedules tend to look as overbooked as ours. They need our help in figuring out what is important and making time for it.

3. Make the space. Each family does this differently. It may mean no radio, TV, or Internet until 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. It may mean a room or table is set aside so your child has a clear space where they can focus. (Note: Many kids do actually do better with some background noise, but this can mean running the dishwasher or playing pleasant classical music – it doesn’t have to be their favorite rap station!) Once they are set up, make sure the work is being done by checking in periodically. Or, put them at the dining room table or some other area where you can easily see them working.

4. Check in. Periodically read through your child’s completed homework assignments. As children get older and/or their grades improve, you may only spot check their work occasionally. But it is important to review what they have done – and particularly at the beginning, do this early enough so that corrections can be made or incomplete answers finalized.

5. Make sure everything is working. Be sure your kids have regular medical, dental, and eye check-ups. If your child is still struggling, look into a reputable educational assessment – one that not only tests your child’s abilities, but also work with your child to address the problems. My recommendation: Power Tools For Learning, www.toolsforlearning.com. This business is national in scope, and works with and refers families across the US.

6. Don’t assume age is everything. Parents often assume that older children don’t need quite so much hand-holding. But the reality is that the amount of supervision and intervention should be determined by the child’s grades, not his or her age. A 17-year-old with Ds may require more involvement than a 10-year-old with As.

7. Read and write. Children do, indeed, copy what they see you do. Slouching home to the TV every night sets a bad example. Read. Write emails. Exercise your mind, and share your experiences with your children. With the advent of scrapbooking, the entire family can now read and write together. Compose a family scrapbook, and ask your child to research and write part of the story. Ask your child to keep a journal on your next vacation – not for your eyes, but for themselves, to have when they are older. Visit the National Endowment for the Humanities at www.neh.gov for information on “My History is America’s History,” which is an excellent starting point.

8. Shop for toys wisely. Video games may provide kids with good eye-hand coordination, but other diversions sharpen other important skills, too. Encourage your kids to work crossword puzzles and other word and number games. Play board games, such as Trivial Pursuit.

9. Get physical and eat well. Physical activity will help them stay healthy and alert, so they are ready to learn. Help them make wise food choices, too, so they are feeding their brain well. A junk food diet makes the body and the mind sluggish.

10. Learn at home, too. Get kids thinking about subjects they are interested in. Ask them for more details and encourage them to find the answers. Make sure they know how to take notes, how to summarize what they have read, and how to go about finding answers to their questions. These skills will come in handy no matter what they are learning. Don’t assume that school is all of the learning practice they need – reinforce it at home as much as time allows. Even busier kids, with no spare time during the school year, benefit from maintaining their reading and writing skills over the summer.