Academic success begins at home
How many times have we blamed the educational system for not providing a quality education to our children? We often find something negative in the school system to complain about when it comes to the education of our children. We complain about how teachers are not challenging children enough, the school is using old books to educate our children, our children score poorly on standardized tests, the material being taught is not relevant, our children need a more individual attention, the school needs better teachers and principals, the class has too many students so our children cannot learn, or our children have too many difficult classes in the morning, the list goes on. Let’s stop for a minute and wonder if the teacher or the school is the only one to blame for our children not getting a good education.
We live in a society that tends to blame someone else for the problems we face in society. Yes, our schools and teachers have a responsibility to provide a good education for our children. But let’s look at some facts about who spends the most time with our children and who is our children’s first teacher. When children are born, parents have the responsibility to build their educational foundation. In other words, parents are the first teachers of their children, from the day the child is born or even while the child is still in the mother’s womb.
Some parents hope they can provide a solid educational foundation for their children from day one. These parents read to their children from an early age and even before the child is born. These parents provide as many educational opportunities for their children as possible long before their children start kindergarten, and this process does not stop when children start school. These parents participate in the education of their children throughout their academic journey. Research tells us that these children generally have a positive educational experience, with academic success almost guaranteed.
Yet like many parents, or perhaps more, they don’t spend a lot of time preparing their children for their future educational journey. There are many reasons this could be happening to parents, such as busy jobs, not having enough time in the day, and parents’ belief that the school should do all the education. Whatever the reason, these children are being misled by their parents’ lack of preparation and support. These parents do not understand that children spend the first five years of their life at home, which is one of the most important moments to begin to build the educational foundation of their children. If nothing is done during those years, children fall behind in their educational development, and when they start school, they are already lagging behind their peers. As a result, teachers must work harder because these children require more attention, taking time away from students whose parents prepared them for kindergarten.
When students enter kindergarten behind their peers, they are subject to developing behavioral or social problems because they are academically behind with other children the same age. This is a major problem for teachers, schools, and our education system in general. As more students start behind, more resources are needed to bring them to grade level. Bringing students to the appropriate grade level is very difficult and could take several years. Who is to blame for this problem?
Instead of blaming someone, I think that we as a society should try to do something about it. While we cannot require that all parents be more involved in their children’s education, perhaps we can start by crafting some guidelines on what successful parents do with their children and offering workshops for parents across the country to make sure they understand. the importance of providing an educational foundation for your children. I think parents would do better if they knew better. Our society can do several things to ensure that parents are aware of the importance of parental involvement in the success of their children. Putting that information in the hands of our parents and providing the necessary support for its success could improve our entire educational system. The time to start is now.