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Below is the text
from a presentation that I gave at the school that I teach at to the parent
community. It's so important to remember when attempting to support parents and
caregivers that theirs is a doubly difficult task. Not only are most of them
trying to support their students' academics without the benefit of educational
training, they are also doing double duty at caregivers for their students.
With such double duty comes the inevitable cross over of other aspects of the
child/parent relationship. All the highs and lows of the day, and life in
general bleed into the homework experience. Reminding parents and caregivers of
this, and emphasizing the need to mindfully consider this when parenting and
offering academic support is vital. Such knowledge can go a long way towards supporting
families as they work towards crafting a home environment which best speak to
student academic achievement (i.e. the optimization of conditions and
considerations).
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Optimizing Home Environments for Academic Success
Introduction:
Homework, projects, practice, they can be points of frustration and conflict within the home and the student,caregiver relationship. There is no one key which assures success when it comes to home based academics. Yet, there is hope available for students and their families when it comes to crafting home environments and practices which support student success. Hope comes in the form of mindful consideration of several key areas, which potentially present stumbling blocks. What follows are areas/points which might be considered alone or in combination depending on conditions specific to the individuals involved.Goals:
- To gain a better understanding of how to approach academics in the home environment.
- To provide a systematic approach towards the crafting home environments for success.
1. Academics is part of a greater whole…
Academics is just one part of the home/family dynamics, this is an essential understanding. As we all know the different areas of our life are not compartmentalized. What takes place in one area of our relationships, families, and homes inevitably ripples into all other sections of life. With this in mind parents and caregivers who are interested in supporting their students academic performance are well advised to mindfully address the wide spectrum of parenting/caregiving responsibilities and applications. Harmony, alignment, and success in other aspects of the home can ripple through daily life and ultimately lay the foundation for growth and achievement in academics. 2. Establish a vision of what home academics should
look like…
Most of us wouldn’t leave on a trip, journey, or adventure, unless we had some idea as to where we wanted to end up. Yet, all too often we approach life’s tasks without a vision of success firmly in place. Before undertaking the task of crafting a home academic environment work with your student to identify 3 or 4 clear goals for your home environment. What does success look like? In a perfect world how would things work? Don’t choose more than a couple of goals at first though. Biting off more than you can chew only leads to frustration and failure. Remember, “baby steps”. Learn to walk before you run. Continue to revisit that vision of success periodically. As you progress is made, and time elapses reassess and tweak the plan as you consider the next steps in the ongoing process.3. Consider needed changes/adjustments which will need to be engaged in to prepare your household and family...
After identify your “perfect” academic world identify several specific areas of need that must adjusted before the journey begins. Adjustments can speak any number of areas including home environment, relationships, habits, perceptions, etc. As noted previously, adjustments often span different elements of family/home life. It is wise to enlist student support and input to build buy in and involvement. Here again it’s wise to choose just a couple of areas of adjustment at any one time. Plan and implement adjustments carefully, identifying specific goals and measures of success. As much as possible proactively anticipate and clarify questions and potential areas of misalignment before they can even come about. Leading up to implementation of adjustments identify the tools and resources needed to complete the task and have them in place prior to beginning. Finally, periodically access progress and either tweak plans or move on to new adjustments that might be needed. 4. Proactively work and communicate with your student(s) the goals, visions, and expectations you will embrace as a household…
From 15 years of experience as an educator my experience is that there is no more important element in the classroom than relationship and communication. If my students don’t know that I care for them and have their best interests in mind, my motivations and decisions are understandably open to question especially when I make the tough choices or hold them to high standards. In addition, when I clearly and proactively communicate my explicit expectations and standards to my students I have in essence “put the ball in their court” when it comes to results. By setting realistic attainable goals, providing encouragement and needed supports, being willing and open to discus and adjust as needed, I give my students confidence that I hear their them when they bring their concerns and struggles to me. Another important consideration is remaining flexible and open to appropriate and reasonable change when circumstances dictate. Employing empathy for students, understand their capacities given their age, experience, and maturity levels can shape reasonable responses. Finally, who doesn’t respond to rewards? Sure it would be great if every one of us would be driven by innate desires to achieve and succeed, but such is seldom the case. Life is a balance of rewards/benefits and natural consequences. Crafting and orchestrating these elements in your student’s academic life is a powerful tool. Knowing when to step in, and step back is another important skill set for any parent. Leaving students to flounder can discourage even the most driven of students. Conversely, swooping in to “fix” every problem and failure can rob students of essential life experiences which will serve them will in adulthood.5. Clearly identify the goals and parameters of the academics…
Working to align with the expectations of the education professional is essential. Identify and clearly understand both the short term and long term academic goals of units, projects, and lessons. Identify the types of supports and helps that are reasonable to provide the students. Clarify with teachers the types of differentiation (modifications to the lessons specific to a learner’s needs such as the use of calculators, voice to text, reduction in the number of questions, etc.) and scaffolding (supports built into the lessons and documentation specific to a learner such as help developing outlines, providing potential topic sentences, etc.) Too often students and families can either misinterpret the purpose of the lesson, or disregard homework/project standards in favor of self generated goals which do not speak to the learner’s best interests. Often it is not as important that the student finish the entire worksheets as it is to engage in a quality study experience. Often when it comes to learning less is more and quality trumps quantity. 6. Consider and support specific academic, environmental, and social emotional supports specific to your student(s)...
The importance and impact of the physical and social emotional working environment can not be underestimated. Whether the issue in lighting, acoustics, distractions, physical comfort, or any number of other issues, being able to focus on the academic task at hand is essential. Companies devote extensive resources to optimize work environments which support productivity. They are always looking for ways to improve the quality of time on task, and to optimize the conditions in which their workers labor. Why? Because they know that fatigue, discomfort, and distraction compromise individual’s ability to bring about their best results. So it is with your students. By making sure that they are given the conditions that best speaks to their individuality and learning style the parent caregiver is communicating the respect that they have for their student’s unique qualities. What defines optimal work conditions for one person, can be completely different for another. Whereas some work well in silence, others need music, where some can sit for hours, others must move, with frequent breaks. For some, pencil and paper will suffice, while for others hands on tools are called for. Be flexible and accommodating with an eye on the end goal of the experience.Conclusion
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