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Does Our Parenting Need Improvement?
The results of the Goodhue County Health Assessment are in, and the issue to rate the number one spot...Parenting Skills. Before we go any further let me clarify, it does not mean that data and opinions point to us having the most terrific parents around, it means parenting skills have been identified as an issue of concern.
Does that surprise you? Probably not, I know I often find my self judging others parenting styles based on my own traditions and values.The more important question is, what does good parenting look like? I certainly don't have all the answers, (my kids will be the first to tell you that!) but I can read and have been doing a lot of reading about this issue. I did learn a little about being a better parent concerning academic achievement.
READ TO YOUR CHILDREN
We keep hearing about our failing schools and our need for better teachers. If we got rid of teachers unions everything would improve and our kids would all be geniuses - no more children left behind, right? Wrong, new studies show that to improve student achievement we need better parents, at least parents more engaged in their child's education.
In a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D.) it was found that tenth grade students whose parents often read books with them during their early elementary years, have higher test scores than those whose parents reported reading with them infrequently or not at all. The OECD report indicates that this holds true regardless of socioeconomic background. Students whose parents reported reading with them every day or almost every day score 14 to 25 percent higher in testing, over those students whose parents reported reading with them "never or almost never" or "once or twice a month".
Parental involvement in a child's education is strongly associated with better performance. Just asking your child how their school day was and being truly interested in what they are learning can have as much impact as hours of private tutoring. We can all do this, no matter how busy, or tired we are.
A second study, "Back to School: How Parent Involvement Affects Student Achievement" by the National School Board Association Center for Public Education found that it is very simple for us to help our kids academically. Parent involvement can take many forms but only a few actually relate to higher achievement. Patte Barth the centers' director reports "Parental actions that support children's learning at home are most likely to
impact academic achievement at school.
- monitoring homework
- making sure children get to school
- rewarding their efforts
- talking up the idea of going to college
These parent actions are linked to better attendance, grades, test scores and preparation for college. The study found that getting parents involved with their child's learning at home is a more powerful driver of achievement than parents
attending PTA and school board meetings, volunteering in classrooms, participating in fund raising and showing up at back to school nights."
How easy is that? Read to and with your kids, start young, ask them about their day and be interested, some very simple steps to better parenting.
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Maureen Nelson
If you don't have access or know someone without access to books - stop in and see us at the United Way office or call us at 651-388-6309. We'll get you enrolled in our Imagination Library if eligible or help you with other resources.
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