Invest in student learning to profit society as a whole.
It is essential for children to be well prepared when they take their places in the world. Parents are naturally interested in the academic training their own children receive, but they sometimes fail to recognize the importance of educating all children. Teachers and other staff members should not bear the entire brunt of providing education. Instead, everyone in a society must learn to invest in educating children.
Instructions
1. Engage students in discussions regarding what they are studying. Ask questions, provide theories and talk about possibilities. Make it a give and take conversation in which you actively listen to what the pupils say and respond to what you hear with follow-up comments designed to increase interest and spark consideration.
2. Donate funds to help purchase supplies for students who cannot afford them, if you are in a financial position to do so. Teachers need material tools to aid them in educating children. Books, computers, software, calculators, copiers and basic pencils and paper are all a sound investment.
3. Give your time to help students learn. You can tutor or read to students, assist a teacher with planned activities, create workshops, serve as test proctor and volunteer as a chaperone for school trips. Ask local school administrators what is needed most and attend to the most critical needs. Do not neglect tasks that might seem menial, as all help serves as an investment in student learning.
4. Provide students with constructive feedback when you work with them. Praise for hard work is always appreciated, but those truly interested in promoting learning will carefully look for problems with a student's assignment and show the student the errors and fix them. In an article for Virginia Commonwealth University, Chris Frawley, M.Ed., asserts that written feedback helps students learn where they have succeeded with their work and where they have not, as well as fix problems with their work.
5. Ask students to teach others what they have learned. This activity forces a student to encapsulate in her own words what she understands about a particular topic. By becoming responsible for thoroughly covering the material, the student will learn to recognize what she has mastered and what still needs to be achieved in that specific area.
6. Attend school board meetings and other community functions involving your local schools. Sign up to speak when you have an issue you want addressed. Stay active in the learning community so you can find the areas in which you are most needed. Continue to invest in student learning by voting for bonds that benefit schools and for politicians who share your objectives for education in your area.
Tags: educating children, they have, problems with, student learning, students learn