Hello friends,
The school year is right around the corner — some have started already and it’s only August! – and I’m busy putting a marketing plan into place for my business and putting the final touches on a new website. For a sneak preview, visit:
http://www.betterreportcard.com/temp
I recently had a column published in the Encinitas First newsletter put out by the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce. It’s about offering parents advice for helping their children get off to a solid start for the school year. I’ll post the copy here for your enjoyment:
Helping Your Children Succeed in School…And Beyond
BY JEFF BIBLER
DIRECTOR, BETTER REPORT CARD TUTORS
Maybe the recent news about our state’s high school graduation rates did not surprise you. The Department of Education study revealed that more than 1 in 5 public school students in San Diego County will drop out of school by their senior year. But if you are a parent with school-age children, you might be asking yourself what you can do to help your children get off to a strong start this school year and help them develop the self-confidence and good study skills necessary to succeed this school year and beyond. Here are my suggestions, gleaned from my 9 years as a teacher, tutor, and director of Better Report Card Tutors:
· Get involved in your children’s education – from kindergarten through college. Volunteer in their classrooms, check in with your children on a daily basis about school, and be in regular contact with their teachers.
· Be flexible and patient with your children, and really listen to them. When you make a resolute effort to exhibit these qualities with your children, the results are truly amazing. Be sure you praise their effort, not their intelligence or ability. Do not do the work for them, and let them teach you what they’ve learned or tried so far. If you don’t know how to help with a certain problem, admit it (that’s a big lesson in itself), and work together to solve it.
· Show your children you care and you love them. Of 2,200 teenagers surveyed across the U.S. in a recent study, an astounding 79 percent claimed they felt a lack of love in the home. You can bet this is going to have a huge impact on their self-esteem and how well they do in school.
· Finally, if you’ve done all of the above and one of your children is still slipping, you should reach out for help. Call for a meeting with your child’s teacher and make sure your child is there. Speak with the school counselor. The following websites offer excellent advice and resources: www.onetoughjob.org, www.nea.org/parents, and http://www.familyeducation.com. You can also enlist the help of a learning center or a tutoring service. Learning centers tend to have their own curricula, while most tutoring services focus on what the child is struggling with at school. Just remember that your child CAN learn – and with enough effort and caring you can find the right combination of help and resources to help your child succeed at any level.
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