Motivating Children For Academic Success Ann Arbor MI

You want your child to do their very best in school and in life. You want them to pay attention to their teacher, make an effort, and develop the skills and knowledge necessary for success in life. Unfortunately, he or she doesn't seem to share these values or doesn't seem to be able to fulfill the expectations set forth by a teacher. While this situation can be enormously frustrating for you and your child, there are many strategies to help your family cope and to improve your child's performance. The demands of today's school system can seem insurmountable, but motivating your child for greater success is within your reach.

1. Nurture a positive attitude towards school and learning. Be sure that conversations of school don't center around what your child isn't doing or isn't doing well. Your child may say that their favorite part of the school day is gym or recess. Rather than say, "I meant the academic school day!" ask them about these activities that they enjoy so they know you care. They may start opening up more about other issues that are frustrating or challenging for them. Speak positively about school activities and use a positive tone. Avoid nagging and prolonged lecturing which is unproductive and will encourage your child to tune out. There are no consequences to a lecture. In the following steps, you will hear about much more constructive strategies.
2. Set high but attainable goals with your child. Find out where your child is in academics and skills in order to set specific and 'doable' goals with them. Talk with their teacher and ask to see their assignments, homework, and exams. Ask the teacher about what kind of improvement they expect to see as well as what is considered grade-level work. For example, if your child is struggling in Math, find out what's holding them up. Have they not memorized their multiplication table? If the teacher sends home practice drills and you see that they completed only 15 facts in a 3 minute quiz, then set a goal of completing 20 facts in a 3 minute quiz. Work towards this goal by practicing 10 minutes a day with flash cards.

   If they are reading below grade level, ask their teacher for sample titles or series that are at your child's grade level and encourage them to read at their reading level for 20 minutes a day. Forcing them to read a grade-level book because that's where they should be, is not beneficial to building their reading skills.

   It may be more difficult to set such specific goals with some subjects and areas of learning, but set goals such as studying or reviewing material for 10-20 minutes each day with the goal of improving 5-10 percentage points or one grade level on the next quiz, exam, or assignment. Going from a 'D' to an 'A' overnight is not realistic....

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Author: Susan Niz