School at any age can be a looming endeavor for anyone, but for someone who is having difficulty it can be completely dreadful. Educational problems come in all forms and sizes, whether they are centered on an inability to learn due to different impairments, or behavioral issues that disrupt the overall classroom environment, here are some key things that may help your child, as well as help you understand where your child is coming from.
It’s important to keep in mind that what some teacher’s consider to be disruptive, others won’t. Some teachers can be more patient and more tolerant with their students, creating less friction amongst themselves and their students; whereas other teachers can be a bit testier and their patience may be considerably less than prior teachers. It’s because of this we can often see children having “good years, and bad years.”
If your child is genuinely having problems at school, or is legitimately distracting the classroom environment start off by assessing the situation; this can be done in a number of ways. You can volunteer as an aide for a day or two in their classroom to see how your child acts in that environment; if it’s too much for your child to have you there, they may feel more comfortable with a trusted family friend or another relative—doing this can help discover something as simple as miscommunication occurring. If the situation appears to be a bit more serious you may be able to call in a school psychologist or a child therapist to evaluate your child in the classroom. Understanding how your child is behaving in the classroom and on the playground is imperative to understanding why there may be some difficulty learning.
Another important step is to listen to your child. Simply asking them questions and waiting for a response isn’t enough; just because they’re children, it doesn’t mean that they don’t understand what it is to be patronized. They want to be heard just like anyone else—so when children hear the phrase, “How was school?” their apprehension to respond immediately can often be traced back to not wanting to say anything negative. Children often think all their parents want to hear is just good news, so when they have negative feelings it can be difficult for them to address this. It’s important to try as best as possible to reconnect with your children during this stage of their lives—no one liked the stuffy cramped classrooms, the uncomfortable desks, the work that was either too hard or too easy, and the teacher that just seems to avoid you all the time. Ask questions about their feelings, listen with non-judgmental ears and maintain a stance of unconditional positive regard; these are practices we do in healthy relationships throughout our lives, our children deserve the same.
If your child is having a problem with authority one of the first places to start helping them is in how you yourself manage conflict amongst authoritarian figures. In all the proceedings and handlings you have with your child’s school you may find yourself involved with teachers or school administrators that are not necessarily what you expect, but be very careful as to how you talk to your child about those situations. In your mind you may be speaking rationally to your child trying to get across how not every adult is always right, but what they may perceive that as, is an excuse to act out against the same teachers and officials. As hard as it may be at times, parents lead by example.
Lastly help ignite your child’s imagination further. If they’re getting discouraged and downtrodden because of how they feel at school, explain to them that they are in charge of where their minds go. If they’re feeling miserable at school, they need only imagine you, or their favorite place to go, and they can regain their love and excitement. The mind is a very powerful too, especially a child’s mind, and the power of positive thought goes a long way.
Trying to find the right resources online to help your child can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s difficult to even fathom where to look. Here is a small list of ten sites that can help both you and your child with studying and learning: