How Parents Can Help Their Children Hone Study Skills - and Life Skills

We know it is getting close to the end of the school year, but it seems that we are getting more and more questions from parents about how they can help their child at home to hone their study skills while we also work with their child at Sylvan. I thought that I would revisit a post from a few months ago for this week's entry... Try to remember. When you were a student, did you ever ask, “How will grammar (or geometry or social studies) benefit me later in life?” Be honest. Now, return to today. When was the last time you took notes at a meeting? Or prioritized your “to-do” list? Or organized a project from start to finish? The skills you use to do these tasks at work and at home are the same skills you learned and honed in English class (and geometry and social studies). Now, your children are developing those skills that will enable them to read analytically, write and speak expressively and think strategically. And when they ask, “What good is this going to do me?” - you know that it all starts with taking notes in history class, studying for that bio exam and juggling time to accommodate school, sports and social calendars!

Organization, time management, note taking, test taking and strategic reading are all essential study skills that are first introduced to young people in the classroom, but ultimately transfer far beyond school. To help your child develop these skills in a way that is meaningful to them – mainly applying them to their “job” which is school – Sylvan Learning recommends tips that parents can follow:
Organization and Time Management • Have students use a planning calendar to track daily, weekly and monthly assignments and responsibilities. • Encourage children to break down large, complex tasks into manageable pieces. • Have children prioritize homework and other tasks when they get home from school, then complete the tasks in that order.

Note Taking • Don’t panic if a child’s notes look sloppy and disorganized. It’s often just a sign of a student with an active mind who is organizing things in ways that work best for him or her. • Encourage students to review their notes and even rewrite them, if necessary, to be sure they make sense. • As they review their notes, have children identify the most important points and highlight them.

Test Taking • Urge a student to study over a period of days or weeks instead of cramming the night before. • Be sure students go into the test with the right equipment, whether that means a calculator, class notes, textbooks or simply a pencil. • Encourage them to answer test questions they know first and then go on to the more challenging questions.

Reading • Encourage young readers to use all the clues available to them while reading, such as headlines, pictures, captions, charts, tables and graphs. • Urge them to read different types of writing, such as books of fiction and nonfiction, newspaper and magazine articles, letters and Web sites. • Talk with kids after they read a book or article. Have them tell you what the story was about, why it did or didn’t interest them and how it related to their life.

Studies show that the more involved parents are with their children’s education, the better the children do in school. What the studies don’t say is that this involvement is not just in the children’s school, but in the children’s lives. Because life is a balance of basic core skills (reading and math) and personal skills, such as communication and responsibility skills (organization and time management), parents need to nourish all of these skills, not just the ones that yield a grade. Along with this, comes the language we use when talking with our children. Saying things like "You're never going to get into college at this rate," is something that we sometimes in a heated moment when we're upset with our children, but these words are hurtful and often compound the problem. Instead, try phrases that use "I-Statements" ex. "I'm upset that this is difficult for you" or "I want the best for you, how can I help you?" in some situations. In other situations where a child is just not doing their work, as in the case of homework, check their teacher's website, their online gradebook, their agenda and in some extreme cases, be in almost weekly contact with the classroom teacher.

For some students, though, the lack of higher grades on tests and quizzes might not be an issue of their study habits, it may be a sign of deeper frustrations in their Reading, Math or Writing skills.

How Parents Can Help Build Their Child’s Self-Esteem

Approximately 20 to 45 percent of school-aged children do not reach their full potential because they suffer from low self-esteem. Self-esteem refers to how you feel about yourself. It includes self-confidence, self-respect, pride in oneself, independence and self-reliance. Success builds self-esteem. Because underachieving students do not experience as much success in the classroom, low self-esteem is often the result. Many parents assume that their underachiever may have a lower IQ. In fact, most underachievers have high or average IQs, but their low self-esteem prevents them from succeeding in the classroom.

A school-aged child’s self-esteem is cultivated primarily at home. It is important that parents have a complete understanding of what self-esteem is and how to help build positive self-confidence in their child. It is the way a child feels about himself/herself regardless of how others view him/her. A secure home environment that establishes confidence, respect and an open exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings is crucial to building self-esteem. The more positive a child’s self-esteem, the more successful he or she will be at dealing with life. Confident children will try harder, be happier and have greater self-respect. At Sylvan, students work with one teacher and no more than two other students and are able to build their confidence.

For the first 5-6 years, parents are the most important influences in a child’s life. When children begin school, teachers and friends begin to play a role. When a child reaches adolescence, peer groups begin playing a more significant role in guiding a child’s self-esteem. The more positive a child’s self-esteem is before adolescence, the easier it will be for him or her to resist negative peer group pressures. Children who constantly put themselves down have low self-esteem. Children who face new experiences with confidence and positive expectations, and shrug off disappointments with an “it will be better next time” attitude, have high self-esteem.

Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, offers the following communication tips to help build or restore your children’s self-esteem:

• Have easy-going conversations on topics that are of interest to your children.
• Ask questions that require in-depth responses.
• Be optimistic.
• Encourage children to express their true feelings.
• Listen to how your children fees without making judgments about those feelings.
• Be patient.

Positive self-esteem not only helps students in the classroom, but also contributes to success later in life. Self-esteem must be established at an early age and strengthened throughout every child’s life.

To build positive self-esteem, parents must strive to:

• Help their children to set goals.
• Assist their children in identifying obstacles to success and developing ways to overcome them.
• Remind their children to think positive thoughts.
• Praise their children everyday.
• Everyday, say “I love you” and mean it.
• Allow their children to be free to succeed and to make mistakes.
• Compliment their children and don’t compare them to other siblings.
• Make time to talk to their children every day.

In today’s society, there is a definite demand on students to succeed, and positive self-esteem is crucial. It may be beneficial to send your child to a supplemental education provider that reinforces positive self-esteem. Sylvan Learning has helped more than two million students develop the skills, habits and attitudes needed for lifelong success. Sylvan also helps bolster self-esteem by focusing on strategies for success and providing consistent positive reinforcement to demonstrate that learning is its own reward.