'HOMEWORK'
Parenting play a key role in children’s learning, and the development of their ‘Learning-Skills’ – it becomes a family affair. If parents overlook this opportunity, and responsibility, then one key area of success is missing.
Nobody learns in isolation, or from just one source. Every experience, and interaction with others, adds to learning, knowledge, and wisdom. If education, in its broadest sense, is just left to the school, then the student is being short changed, because the home and family have a tremendous influence, positive or negative, on a student’s attitude and success.
Appendix One of the Study Guide recommends, for younger students, that parents understand the study rules themselves, and then introduce them slowly and with appropriate explanations and support.
Sometimes, through no fault of the parents, children can become stressed, and anxious. Their attitude and behaviour may deteriorate. This may be the result of influences and pressure outside the home. Bullying, and other peer influences and pressures are typical examples that may have severe impacts on attitude and learning. Sometimes an unpleasant or frightening experience can leave the student with lingering trauma.
For students, up the age of about 12, the Guide offers a drug-free method, that parents can use at home, to help overcome these fears, and to enable them to cope much more positively.
See page 13 about student stress & depression.
Parents' advice: The advice from the parents of the most successful matriculation students in 2006 was simple - Work together to provide a tension-free home. Give plenty of support and encouragement. Stay cool and calm and know how to deal with stressful situations. Do this from a very early age, and read to them even before they start school. Not too much TV. Don't set unrealistic goals. Encourage them to do their homework, and lead an active social life.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for the index and link to all the other pages in this web.
The secret of raising smart kids (from Scientific American Nov 2007)
Most parents worship talent and superior intelligence or ability in their offspring, but this is no recipe for ultimate success. More than 30 years of scientific investigation has found that overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves them vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges, and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings. They develop the wrong mind-set for success. Encouragement which focuses on effort rather then intelligence and talent helps make them into high achievers in school and in life. Children with a growth mind-set were more likely to outperform more intelligent students . Learning was a more important goal than grades. For parents to emphasize how brilliant or talented a student is may be misguided, it develops the wrong mind-set - better to praise hard work and effort.
Effects of Nutrition on Learning: Research at the University of Glasgow shows that poor early nutrition can have long-lasting negative consequences for cognitive (learning) ability. Poorly nourished children can undergo a period of accelerated growth once their diet improves, ultimately appearing normal as an adult. But such compensatory measures may come at a price, with other developmental disabilities emerging later in life. (EurekaAlert! PLoS Biology journal - 18.07.06)
Homework Primer for Parents
Education expert, Tonya Perry M.Ed. at University of Alabama asks, 'When should parents help children with homework?' And she gives this advice: Determine whether you can keep a cool head. If you're too emotionally attached to the material, or if your child becomes frustrated and you can't seem to soothe him or her, back away and re-evaluate whether you're the best tutor for your child. Know the purpose of the assignment. Does the teacher want the paper to be returned error free, or is he or she trying to determine the child's skill level; parents should resist correcting errors. Also resist doing your child's projects and reports yourself. Ultimately, it's their homework.
(from newswise.com)
More on Homework
The following is one recommended guide to homework: 4 & 5 year-olds, 20 minutes a day - 10 minutes of parent reading and 10 minutes reading or doing sums on their own: increasing to 2 hours for students working for TEE.
See Links Page for tips on homework help.
The Importance of Treating Childhood Anxiety
The Harvard Medical Health Letter of 7 Dec 2004 says that while childhood fears are eventually outgrown, treatment of childhood anxiety is important to prevent adult disorders. It lists the following - self-doubt, self-consciousness, concern about meeting expectations, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic, separation anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.
These problems are not uncommon, so before rushing to drugs with their often unwanted side effects, I suggest you study Appendix One of the Study Guide and trial the drug-free program described there.
Finding Solutions to difficulties at School: Professor Anna Beresin at the University of Philadelphia, and therapist Dr Paula Rosen, suggest the following signs if there are problems - suddenly doesn't sleep well - or eat well - or refuses to play - signs of anger, sadness or tears - is reluctant to go to school - headaches or stomach upsets. It may be bullying, or boredom, or not being sufficiently challenged. Talk to the teacher, and maybe get some professional advice.
School is always in session with Children
Marlo Archer, a Psychologist, has pointed out that children in the first few years of their lives have an amazing capacity to learn. They figure out your internet or your VCR quicker than you do. Adults find it difficult to comprehend how very quickly they learn. Presents are nice, but they'll have much fonder memories of how you taught them to ride a bike, or take apart an engine, or being taught to read, or the names of all the flowers in the garden. They can learn just as quickly to punch holes in the wall, to fight, or smoke or gamble! They are quick learners of whatever you teach them. So take advantage of their thirst for knowledge, but be incredibly careful what you teach them - school is always in session.
A Minute a Day Can Improve Children's Reading Skills (Newswise 14/07/2008)
Sharon Darling, President and founder of the National Centre for Family Literacy, encourages parents to take a minute - literally - to engage their children in learning activities while hey go about their daily routine. A minute can be used to increase vocabulary, expand reading skills. Singing songs is a literacy activity. Encourage them to paint pictures with words. Talk about and describe the happenings of the day. Children spend five time as much time outside he classroom, so learning shouldn't be confined o the class room. Visit http://www.famlit.org
Success at School begins at Home: The CEO's of the UK Campaign for Learning said recently, that what children learn at home has six times more effect on their attainment than the 15% of waking time they spend in school. They point out that the barriers to learning are often emotional and personal - a bad experience at school or a negative self-image. Rather than talking about 'learning' and 'libraries', some of been renamed 'idea Stores' - thinking differently about learning.
Another research program has found:
'The key to your child doing well at school is conversation in the home'
'The amount and quality of the dialogue children experience in the pre-school years correlated strongly with their eventual academic attainment.'
Dr Yvonne Fournier of Fournier Learning Strategies has pointed out that raw intellectual ability and the skills to use it are two very different things. The skills must be developed with self-assurance and staying power. Place your child in a situation in which he or she can develop emotional strength and motivated response to school's challenges.
Game Playing: A recent report (11.9.06) suggests a growing number of educational advocates emphasize that the most productive way for children to learn is through fun and hands on experience, and that game playing provides the perfect tool. It suggests dusting off old games like draughts, dominoes, card games, Scrabble, and play them as a family group - they can be stimulating, challenging, and involve concentration and strategy.
Kids and the Internet: The University of Indiana offers this advice for 8 - 14 year-olds. Steer clear of Internet social networks - kids don't have the experience to evaluate on line situations with strangers. Keep your computer in a public place where its use can be monitored. Make sure your software provides adequate safeguards, such as antispyware and firewalls. Choose safe online user names, avoid using initials or personal information. http://www.netnanny.com gives sound advice on parental control.
BULLYING: The University of Washington offers some advice. Watch for behavioural problems with your children. Boy bullies use physical aggression, girl bullies use verbal teasing. Open up a discussion about a problem. Some assertiveness training may be first step. Standing up to a bully without getting aggressive may help. If the problem continues it may be necessary to speak to someone in authority in the school
Understanding Maths Day by Day You can help you children, even before kindergarten, to become number conscious - an important preparation for mathematics skills later in school (see Page nine)
Video Games & Aggression: A recent study by Iowa State University of 2500 elementary students found that those who preferred to watch video games which included violence were 73% more likely to be highly aggressive than those who's preference was for non-violent video's - and 263% more likely to exhibit hostile behaviour compared with those who only played non-violent games. Video games use sophisticated teaching techniques, and are highly effective teachers.
Family Environment Critical to Child's IQ: Researchers at the Universities of Harvard, Maryland, Temple & Tulane, have discovered that the care a child receives within the first two years of life directly affects brain development and IQ.
ADHD - If your child suffers from this problem 'Health 24' suggests the following advice. Arrange for them to sit in the front row of the class - teach them to make lists of things to do, pack and take with them to school - eat at regular times - teach them that homework must be done at specific times, use an alarm clock - put a year planner and calendar on their wall - check to make sure tasks are carried out even if it takes a long time.
Updated Feb 2010
How to Learn Faster, and Remember More. Energy, Pattern, and Resonance are the Keys to Memory, and Accelerated Learning.
The Accelerated Learning Study Guide;
Find out about the author of this program of Accelerated Learning.
Order your copy of the Guide to Accelerated Learning.
Should you listen to music while you study?
Page
Seven:
Thesleep you get each night is important for your brain development, and
memory – see what medical experts have to say.
Page
Eight:
Making
use of
the knowledge
you memorize
is part of the learning and understanding process. See what the Nobel Prize
winning Physicist, Professor Richard Feynman, has to say about his experience.
Page Nine:
Some students have
trouble working with numbers, which are the basis of
mathematics.
The numbers game, NUMERO, has proved a winner worldwide in
helping people think faster with numbers.
Page Ten:
Want
a
photographic memory?. This page explains
how you can improve yours.
Page Eleven:
Memory Pill? Food for Thought -
dietary supplements that can boost brain power and memory.
Page Twelve:
READING -
Fluent reading is essential for Accelerated Learning
Education - Poor Reading explained with exercises to overcome the
Problem.
Page Thirteen:
STRESS
Its affect on Memory: How stress helps or hinders memory and
examinations.
Page Fourteen:
JOB SEARCH - CAREER PLANNING -
What to consider when planning a career and its future prospects.
A Look inside the Study Guide:
Pages – 15 to 20 – are six ‘windows’ into the Study Guide, how and why it works.
: Window One: Memory driven by Energy & Resonance
Page
Sixteen:
Window Two: Brain, Mind & Memory – a
‘Learning Machine’
: Window Three: Mind Maps & Memory Patterns
Page
Eighteen:
Window
Four:
Parents
Family Learning
: Window Five: Intuition – a hidden source of learning.
: Window Six: Aging Memory? – You can retrain your memory.
Twenty One:
News Archive
Page
Twenty Two:
Training within Industry –
Workplace Training
–
Vocational Training
Page Twenty Three:
Truth & Memory - treat
everything you see and hear with a healthy scepticism.
Page Twenty Four:
Drugs
& Memory - Prescription & recreational drugs.
Page Twenty Five:
Violence:
A growing problem in schools. Violence is Learned Behaviour. Video games and TV
can teach violence.
Page Twenty
Six:
The
Evolution of Scientific Thought:
Page Twenty Seven: An e-book on Understanding & Managing Stress
Links Page:
Shared links between websites that
have common goals and