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Supplemental Learning at Home

For many years education was thought to be something that takes place in school. However, through the years the competition has increased greatly, and parents have started realizing that education is incomplete without third person interference. So, now parents chip in playing their part as an additional teacher or as a guide overlooking the progress of the child at school.

The term parent involvement is used broadly in this report. It includes several different forms of participation in education and with the schools. Parents can support their children's schooling by attending school functions and responding to school obligations (parent-teacher conferences, for example). They can become more involved in helping their children improve their schoolwork--providing encouragement, arranging for appropriate study time and space, modeling desired behavior (such as reading for pleasure), monitoring homework, and actively tutoring their children at home.

This helps the child both morally and mentally. When you help the child in his studies, he thinks that there is someone looking after him and his performance at school. This actually helps the child because he feels accountable to someone at home, thus pushing him towards studies. Little things such as asking your child about his day at the school every night can go a long way in the child's performance in the school.

Research shows that children whose parents were involved in the process of education performed much better at school, had higher ambitions, wanted to learn more, and wanted to attain higher education than other children. The research also shows that the earlier in a child's educational process parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects will be.

Educators frequently point out the critical role of the home and family environment in determining children's school success, and it appears that the earlier this influence is harnessed, the greater the likelihood of higher student achievement. Researchers have also found that the schools with the most successful parent involvement programs are those which offer a variety of ways parents can participate.
Apart from performance at school, parents' involvement also helps in molding the behavior and attitude of children.

The involvement first and foremost strengthens the bond between the child and the parent, developing a mutual trust and promoting interaction between them. This interaction also helps the children in dealing with teenage struggles such as depression, aggression and obsession more effectively and positively. Also, the research also reveals that parents who are involved have a more positive attitude about school.

The research also shows that in schools where parent-teacher interaction opportunities were less common, the results of the school were not as high.

About the Author

Sara Jones was a fine student but science was a source of frustration she didn't want her kids to suffer. She met Rick and Amanda Birmingham and realized their grasp of everyday science was the secret to making science fun. To learn more about the solution to science stress visit www.SuperFunScience.com

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