Parental Involvement in Education| Parents and Education

Parents serve as the first teachers of their kids. The responsibility of the child doesn’t end when a child starts going to school. Although structured learning takes place in schools, parents do have an active role in their children’s education. To do well and feel motivated throughout school, kids always need their parents.

Parents have an important role in shaping the character of their children. The kind of stories that they share, the values that they inculcate, the response that they give, etc., play a pivotal role in early childhood education. Also, a child’s learning scale is related to what they see or how they are treated at home. It is a parent's job to show how exciting and useful learning is. Nowadays, all schools have switched to the online mode of learning. It is a great opportunity for parents to make them learn new things every day by using various online education apps. Let’s discuss 6 important roles that parents play in the education of their children.

1. Be a role model: What parents do and say guides their child’s behavior and beliefs. You should include your child in family discussions, live a healthy lifestyle, take responsibility for your actions, and many more. By their regular presence (physically & mentally) and healthy interactions with their children, parents can serve as consistent and evolving role models for their children. Show them how exciting and meaningful school life can be if they try their best. Inspire them to learn new things every day in and out of school with the right guidance.

2. Communicate regularly: Parents should oversee the activities of their child and should communicate with them regularly. During these one-on-one talks, try to understand the problem of your child and corresponding solutions should be discussed. It is very important to have a heart-to-heart talk with children, especially when they start going to school. While talking about parental involvement, it is impossible to sideline the importance of spending time with children and communicating with them. Children might need their parents on multiple occasions. Nowadays, all classes are online with the help of an online live classes app. Children might face some problems in shifting to this new way of learning. So, it is very important to communicate with children about all the changes they are facing and how to resolve them at the earliest. Parents should be a safe place for their children.

3. Participate in school activities: Schools always organize some fun activities to bring together students and parents. Parental involvement must be pronounced and visible in such cases. Parents should always participate in those activities with their children to get closer to them. This way children will also get friendly with their parents. Children naturally want to exhibit their talents and skills for everyone to appreciate, especially their parents. It is also a good opportunity for parents to get a “feel” of the school environment and to know how good their child is in interacting with others. Also, fun activities are important to freshen the minds of children.

4. Parent-teacher meetings: To understand how well your child is doing in school, you should never miss parent-teacher meetings. Knowing about the strengths, weaknesses, and interest areas of your child is very important. Always keep track of your child’s performance and have a conversation about the ongoing child’s progress in parent-teacher meetings. It is a great opportunity for teachers as well to share academic progress based on classroom observations, assessments, portfolios, and assignments. The parent-teacher meeting is one of the best ways to understand your child better and parental involvement is a must here.

5. Teach about everyday life: Practical knowledge is equally important as theoretical knowledge. Many of the things that your kids learn at school can be associated with everyday life to make learning more interesting. For example, you can talk about units of measurement while cooking, you can also talk about the sun and other celestial bodies while walking after dinner, safety rules inside and outside the home, etc. If your child is fascinated with gadgets, you can explain some basics in working on a computer or refrigerator. Make this a part of your child’s everyday learning to fuel your child’s curiosity.

6. Monitor child’s performance: Parents should have active participation in their child’s school, especially in the early stages of learning. If your child is not making satisfactory progress, then talk about the problems with their class teachers. Parents and teachers should work together in educating children. Make sure to check graded assignments, results of tests, exams and performance task ratings of your children. In online learning, the online grading portals are better than classroom ones as they evaluate the performance of every child very carefully, making it easier for parents.

We can conclude that parents should be keenly involved in their child’s education to make their performance better in school. The things mentioned above are some of the ways to get involved in the education of your children. The involvement of parents in the educational process is very important for the success of each and every child.

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