In the News - August 2009
Back to School: Parents plus schools equal student success
LITTLE ROCK - Parents plus schools equal student success, Dr. James Marshall,
assistant professor of family life with the University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture.
"Schools were created to help parents in the teaching of their children, not
be a substitute for parental direction and involvement," Marshall said. "Parents
should be involved in their children’s education from the first day."
"Parents who are disconnected emotionally or physically from their children
won’t have much effect in helping children succeed," he said. "Loving and
spending time with children are the most important starting points for helping
them to succeed in school."
Rewarding children for doing well in school can be a great motivator for
success," Marshall said. "Of course, all parents want their children to be
self-motivated to do well in school."
Parents can help children develop self-motivation over time through "value
nurturing."
It works by parents asking the child, on a consistent basis, "How does it
make you feel to know you have done so well on your most recent report card or
on that spelling test?"
Parents might also say something such as, "You must feel very proud to have
done so well on your report card."
Questions or statements such as these help the child to begin to formulate
his or her own internal reasons and motivations for doing well in school,
whether you reward them or not, he says.
Sometimes what teachers and/or parents think may be a learning disability in
a child can be something as simple as a child needing glasses to see better.
Other times, it may be something more complex. If a parent thinks a problem
exists, they should begin by using the resources available at the child’s
school.
"Occasionally walking a child into school, picking them up from school,
attending parent-teacher conferences or participating in school activities or
the PTA are excellent ways parents can keep communication lines open between
home and school," Marshall says.
Parents who are willing to put forth this effort can help their children be
more successful in school, he says.
For more information on child care and education, contact your county
extension agent or visit: http://www.arfamilies.org/.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture and offers its programs to all eligible persons
regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability,
marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
August 7, 2009
Media Contact: Elizabeth Fortune
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2120
efortune@uaex.edu
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