Educational Strengths

What do parents need to know when itcomes to books and children? CHRIS HART explains how you can identify and maximizeon a child's educational strength.

- Chris Hart

Every parent wants the best for their children so they choose the best school they can afford, and work with the teachers to see that their children get the most from their education. When parents are involved in their academic lives, kids perform better in school.

Attend parent–teacher meetings, know the layout of the school buildings, so that you understand what your children mean when they talk about their school day. Make sure they know that you see homework as a priority. Teach them organisational skills, so that they stay focused instead of spending a lot of time endlessly searching for all the stuff that they have lost. Above all, make time to talk about school with them every day so that you know what books they are reading and the maths they are working on. This will let them know that what goes on at school is important to you. When kids know their parents are interested in their academic lives, they take school more seriously and you do not have to worry that they may start falling behind.

SO IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT PARENTS CAN DO TO HELP?

Yes there is! Two other things that make a huge difference – and that you can do at home – are helping your children to become really skillful readers, and helping them to identify their strengths.

Reading is critical because children who read a lot of books with a high level of comprehension go on to achieve much more than those who do not. As US president Harry S Truman put it, ‘not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.’

Reading can lift us out of our day–to–day lives, inspire us with stories of great deeds and give us new ideas and it also exposes us to smart people and their experiences of marriage, child-rearing, and building businesses. Fiction on the other hand, provides an escape, so that you can face your challenges with renewed energy and focus.