Success in Education
Take an assessment of your child’s school situation. Don’t be fooled by happiness and success. Of course we do not want to look for problems or create an unhappy environment, but many curriculums provide so little to accomplish that “success” is guaranteed. Most students will not know that their curriculum is missing vital steps; they will only experience the frustration of not knowing why they can’t grasp the next level of that subject. Look both ways when assessing your child: is he happy at school because he is virtually free from any work or challenge, or is he the kind that may be frustrated by the boredom? Does your child love school because his teacher is a sweet and loving person who may not be teaching him but keeps him happy in a “mothering” environment, or is he happy because he is sufficiently challenged and is motivated and praised by that success? The unaware parent may accept “happy” as successful learning. A word of caution: teachers may tell parents a student is doing well either because they want to avoid confrontation, because they do not have enough curriculum training to know what is missing, or because they will not admit their own weakness. Ask to see the curriculum plan for at least three consecutive grades (it is good if the same “brand” is used). This will require at least two things from the parent: first, that he know what he is looking for, and two, that he understands how it should be taught and how it should be reinforced in homework.