For the Reporter
The New Year provides a great opportunity to review the first half of the school year and set some new academic goals for the rest of the school year ahead.
Sylvan Learning of Auburn encourages children to make New Year’s resolutions to improve academic performance, but there are plenty of resolutions parents can make that will go a long way toward supporting their children over the second half of the school year.
Whether it’s for you or your child, keep your resolutions simple and manageable. By settling on two or three achievable goals, and sticking to them, a year from now you and your child will be able to reflect back on 2014 as a time of academic success.
Gail Smith of Sylvan Learning of Auburn suggests making the following six common-sense resolutions to help put your child on the path to success in 2014:
Academic resolutions for students:
• Keep an up-to-date calendar. Whether it’s reminders on a smartphone, notes tacked to a bulletin board or entries in a planner, your child should resolve to keep an updated calendar if he or she doesn’t have one already.
• Prepare for tests in advance. Cramming for tests can become a bad habit. To avoid those late-night cram sessions (which are likely to keep you up late as well), your child should resolve to schedule regular study time far in advance of the night before a test. Studying should start the first day of school, not the day before a test.
• Meet with the guidance counselor. Encourage your child to make a resolution to meet with his guidance counselor at least once to explore ways the counselor might be of help during the school year.
Academic resolutions for parents:
• Understand Common Core. When it comes to today’s standards of learning, it may often sound like teachers are speaking in a foreign language during parent-teacher conferences. That’s why you should resolve to understand what’s going on in the classroom in terms of Common Core – and other schoolstandards.
• Trust yourself as the chief education officer. You may not always know the ins and outs of every school standard or the answer to every algebra problem, but you do know what’s best for your family and child. As your family’s “chief education officer,” you should resolve to trust your own instincts in knowing when to bring in helpful resources when your child needs them.
• Treasure every moment. Homework and the daily routine of life can be a lot to handle, but don’t let life and your children’s younger years pass you by. Take in every moment and treasure the time you spend with your children, even if it’s the hour you spend trying to figure out that one math problem.
For additional tips and resources, please contact Smith of Sylvan Learning at 253-218-0590, gsmith.sylvan@comcast.net, or tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/centers/98002.
