Worried about your child’s education? 5 tips for getting it back on track

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Your child’s education has never been as crucial as it is right now. But, unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has ensured that millions of children worldwide have lost significant portions of their education they generally would have undertaken. While many schools are making provisions to compensate for lost time, the time that has been lost is nevertheless damaging which has left many parents worried about their child’s education.

In addition to curriculum and learning opportunities, time away from school has affected the mental health of many students. The Mental Health Foundation reports that many children are actually worried about returning to school, which could affect their future prospects. And as a parent, you may not want to send your child to school for fear of contracting Coronavirus.

Either way, there are some encouraging things that you can do to help support your child and get the learning back on track through these difficult times. Getting some extra help is a common trend these days thanks to video calling software. And there are various things you can do such as encouragement and helping where you are able.

Hire Extra Tutoring

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, tutoring has become a popular form of learning. Apps like Zoom and Teams and teaching-specific platforms have seen a significant increase in their usage compared to pre-pandemic levels. Many excellent and qualified tutors out there make themselves available for a nominal fee, and the extra help can be invaluable.

For example, maths and physics online lessons can provide a stable boost to your child’s understanding of some of the most challenging subjects they have to undertake. One-on-one teaching like this is simply not possible in a classroom setting, so the extra support and guidance from a hired tutor allows problem areas to be identified and addressed.

Provide Homework Guidance

Homework is a tried and tested method of gauging a student’s understanding of a given topic. Assignment aims to consolidate and review what they have learnt in class that day for a teacher to assess whether the student knows how to apply new knowledge. While your child will be given homework as part of their curriculum, it can sometimes be difficult for them to understand.

The amount of homework set for some children can be challenging to cope with as they also begin to navigate the social aspect of life and effectively manage their school time. While you probably have your own work and life commitments, you should nevertheless make yourself available whenever possible. This is to help and support your child through their homework. Sometimes, all it takes is an outside perspective to explain a problem.

Set Extra Study Time

In addition to homework, should your child struggle with any particular academic subject, it is helpful to set aside some extra study time. This doesn’t need to be an excessive portion of the day. Just an additional 30-minutes can make a massive difference when it comes to extra study. You should also be aware that forcing your child to study for longer than this can be detrimental.

Studies have shown that it is best to research or study a subject for no more than 30 minutes at a time. Some psychologists recommend 20 minutes per session with 10 minutes in between for no longer than 3 hours. However, this kind of study isn’t recommended for general school work, but getting your child into the habit of studying like this will significantly help when they go to college or university.

Encourage Academic Reading

Of course, books are brimming with knowledge, and there are countless books about countless subjects worldwide and throughout history. So one of the best ways to improve your child’s performance in school is to encourage them to read as much as they can about a given subject. Even if it doesn’t directly relate to what they are currently learning in school.

This is because reading outside of the curriculum provides multiple perspectives that allow students to form their own opinions about a topic. Further, this broadens their concept of a problem where they can come up with and apply their own solution, even if it doesn’t work. Reading of any kind also helps with literacy and understanding of language.

Support Your Child’s Education Through Challenging Subjects

Even the best-performing students and often genius-level children will have one subject with which they struggle. For example, suppose your child is a chess and math prodigy with a logical mind. In that case, they may wrestle with the concepts of artistic expression and creative literature. Conversely, it isn’t uncommon for those gifted in the Arts to struggle with more logical subjects such as physics and mathematics.

It is, therefore, necessary to provide support to your children whenever they require it. For example, if they are struggling with history you might consider specifically hiring an IB history tutor. As far as is possible, you should also try making yourself available for help them with the subjects they struggle with as this strengthens the bond between you and your child encourages learning. Children may also become frustrated because they cannot grasp the concept of their particular subject. You can explain to your child that they are not the only ones that struggle and that all they need to do is apply themselves as best they can, and they will eventually get there.

In Summary

Your child’s education is one of the most important responsibilities you have today. The vast majority of this responsibility falls on educational establishments. But, unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has put a dampener on the learning of most children, and they are sure to feel it in the future.

Getting some extra help with your child’s education has become a trend since the beginning of the pandemic. Communication tools and apps like Zoom and Teams were a tremendous help in video communication. This facilitated online learning when children were forced to just stay at home rather than attend school.

But the general concept of helping your child, such as setting extra study time is effective. For just 30-minutes per day, this time can be used to understand a given concept a little more. You can help your child with the subject they are learning or encourage reading from academic sources during this time. Additionally, it will help if you make yourself available to support them as they learn.

Photo by Kampus Production from Pexels

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