- Kindergarten ready. If the kids start out behind, they may
stay behind. If you can’t do it by yourself (or maybe even if you can), enroll
the child in a good preschool. The same for reading to the children and other
activities that nourish the brain. As parents, the authors can testify that
kids like the dumbest stuff read to them over and over. Torture! Do what you
can and if you can’t do much, take them to the library and look for other ways
to move them along. www.mccormacks.com
- Make friends with the teacher. Yes some are pills but many
became teachers because they love kids and want to improve their lives. If your
child is having trouble, the teacher might move him to a different part of the
class or simply give him extra attention. Or give you good advice.
- Ask for the good teachers. You might not always get the
best but if the school knows you’re alert to teacher quality, it might not
stick your kid with the worst. www.mccormacks.com
- Pay attention to scores. Over the past 10 years,
California has revised many of its tests to reflect what is taught in the
classroom and presented in the textbooks (standards and curriculum). Many
teachers believe that the state has gone overboard on testing — and it may have. But on the plus side,
parents get a lot of test data on how their kids are doing in school.
- Watch the pacing. The standards spell out in detail what
the kids should be learning. Check them. Ask the teacher if she is dividing the
kids into ability groups. www.mccormacks.com
- Get some idea of the school limitations. Ms. X should
never have become a teacher but a teacher she is but not bad enough to fire
(which is very difficult.) The principal is not going to tell parents, we have
a real stinker. For the sake of harmony, he is going to praise her to the
heavens and assign her a class. School Y is putting a lot of funds into
remedial and cutting back on science. The school probably will not tell you
this. If you know the limitations, you might be able to figure out the remedies.
- Show up for Back-to-School Nights and Open House. Studies
suggest that if you take education seriously, it will rub off on the kids. Some
of the events you’ll enjoy: the school play, the band recital, the sports.
www.mccormacks.com
- Read the school literature. Check out the Web site. There
might be a homework club. Or some service that offers academic help over the
Web.
- Make sure the homework gets done. www.mccormacks.com
- Gossip and chit chat. Talk to your friends and co-workers.
Find out what’s going on in their schools. If you can tap into your school’s
gossip, do so. Join the PTA. Work in the snack shack and get to know parents.
Gossip can be faulty but often it’s how you identify good teachers.
- Buy Help. When you’re weary, it’s hard to do the school
stuff. Some parents are temperamentally unsuited to helping their kids. Ask the
teacher about tutoring. She may know of a parent who wants to pick up a few
bucks. Or even a responsible high school or college student. See phone
directory, under Tutoring. www.mccormacks.com
- Vote for all school-tax increases. Really! Compared to
other states, our funding is behind. Education is not like building widgets.
You can’t speed up the line. You can’t use robots. You have to put a living,
breathing teacher in the classroom. It’s expensive.
- More money. Many schools will have parent clubs or
education foundations. You donate to them and they spread the money where they
think it will do the most good. Or you work in the snack shack and give the
proceeds to the school. www.mccormacks.com
- Ask for advice. If your child is falling behind, ask for a
conference with a teacher or administrator. If you can’t meet the teacher, call
or e-mail. Some contact is better than none.
- Look for Free or Cheap Enrichment. Many community colleges
run summer academic classes for the kids or allow the teens to enroll in
classes that look good on college applications. Some city recreation departments offer many activities, especially
in summer, for toddlers, adolescents and teens. UC offers college prep classes.
Check with school counselor. www.mccormacks.com
- If the classroom or the teacher is not working, ask for a
change. Some things are not meant to be. Move on.
- The same for the school. It just might be a bad fit. If it
can’t deliver what your child needs, ask for a transfer. Or move. Or if you
have the money, try a private school. www.mccormacks.com
|
