101 Ways Parents Can Help Students Achieve, a booklet from
the American Association of School Administrators, is a valuable tool
for principals, teachers, and parents.
In
her 1987 book, The Evidence Continues to Grow: Parental Involvement
Improves Student Achievement, author Anne C. Henderson summarized
her review of more than 50 studies exploring the link between parental
involvement and student achievement:
Children whose parents help them at home and stay in touch with
the school score higher than children of similar aptitude and family background
whose parents are not involved. Schools where children are failing improve
dramatically when parents are called in to help.
The American Association
of School Administrators (AASA) recognizes that schools, by themselves,
can't satisfy every child's needs. Parents must be involved in their child's
education at home and at school. As a guide for parents, the association
has published a booklet called 106 Ways Parents Can Help Students Achieve.
The booklet has been so popular that the original press run of 18,000
copies was later bumped to 300,000, an AASA spokesperson told the Indianapolis
Star. Leslie Eckard, publications manager, says the Detroit public
schools bought copies for every parent in the system!
The booklet offers 101 tips on ways parents and others can become more
involved in children's education. The tips are conveniently divided by
category. Among the categories are
Learning Begins at Home
Using the Newspaper for Better Learning
Make Family Time = Learning Time
Starting School Ready to Learn
Building Self-Esteem
Improving Academic Achievement
Working With the School
Promoting Your Family's Values
Peer Pressure
Preparing for the World of Work
Good Health = Good Learning
Sources of Help
Learning Is Everyone's Concern
Here we share a handful of the suggestions from 106 Ways Parents
Can Help Students Achieve, to give you an idea of what the booklet
has to offer.
Decorate your child's room with a large map of your state,
the United States, or the world. These colorful, inexpensive maps can
help everyone in the family learn more about geography.
Choose a "person of the week" from the newspaper. Cut out a
photo of this newsmaker and place it in a prominent place. During the
week, encourage your child to read as much as she can about the famous
person. Try to include a range of male and female celebrities, athletes,
and world leaders of all nationalities and races.
Consider making a family time capsule. Put together a collection
of items that preserve your family memories. You'll need a sturdy container.
In your family time capsule, you might include photos of family members
and pets; a favorite T-shirt; autographs; copies of old report cards;
favorite old toys that are no longer being used; and much more. "Bury"
your time capsule in the back of a closet. Then enjoy it in future years.
Help your young child learn letters and numbers. Using crayons,
make colorful posters of the "Letter of the Week" or the "Number of
the Month." Find all kinds of ways to work this letter or number into
your conversations and activities.
Teach your child patience. Let him know that sometimes he has
to wait for something. It is not always possible---or advisable---for
parents to give children what they want. Teach your child that rewards
often come after hard work and effort.
Find ways to help your child feel important. One study by the
National Family Institute found that the average parent spends 14.5
minutes a day communicating with each child. Of that time, 12.5 minutes
are devoted to parental criticism or correction. Not surprisingly, those
behaviors lead many children to believe they do not matter to anyone,
or that they can't do anything right. Make a special effort to tell
your child every day that he is special.
And so go the ideas in 106 Ways Parents Can Help Students Achieve. There you will find 101 more ideas where these came from! The booklet would make
a perfect addition to a "parents' library" in your school or the ideas
could be used as food-for-thought fillers in newsletters published by
school principals or teachers. You can probably come up with 101 uses
for this valuable guide!
In
her 1987 book, The Evidence Continues to Grow: Parental Involvement
Improves Student Achievement, author Anne C. Henderson summarized
her review of more than 50 studies exploring the link between parental
involvement and student achievement: