How to Help Your Child

Learn Study Skills

(Most of the suggestions in this article are for

children 8 years and older.)

We live in an increasingly complex society in which getting a good education is no longer an option, but a necessity. Yet many children don’t do as well in school as they or their parents would like. The difference between children who do poorly in school and those who do well often relates to what their parents do at home to help.
When parents take the time to help, it can influence school success as much or more than a child’s intellectual capacity or the quality of the school he or she attends. Good study skills will provide your child with a basic tool needed to succeed in school

.
What Can You Do to Help?

The specific techniques to use vary based on the age, maturity, and other characteristics of your child.

HELP WITH A STUDY SCHEDULE

When helping your child arrange a study schedule, keep several points in mind: The time arranged for study should occur at the same time each day. Most children, like adults, are creatures of habit. When they get used to doing something at the same time each day, it becomes easier to remember and do rather than if it occurs at different times each day. Work with your child to set aside times for study when he or she is most alert. Involve your child in making the schedule. Children are more likely to accept a study schedule that they have been involved in setting up than one that has been imposed upon them. Help your child be realistic in the amount of time scheduled.

HELP WITH STUDY GOALS

Children who have daily study goals are more organized, focused and motivated during study sessions. The reason is that study goals provide something specific to strive for.
Encourage your child to:
Develop goals based on homework assignments.Three or four small goals that your child can attain one by one work better than one large goal.
Check off each goal as it is completed. Every time your child checks off a goal, it will give him or her a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. This helps provide the incentive to keep going.
Promote studying for understanding. When children understand what they study, they remember it more easily than if they simply memorize it. Guide your child in these ways. Begin each study session with the assignments that are most difficult to learn and understand.
Use the “survey-read-resurvey” procedure. Tell your child first to survey for the main ideas in the chapter. This can be done by reading the introduction and summary to the chapter and any study questions that might be listed at the beginning or end of the chapter. Once your child gains an understanding of the main ideas, he or she should carefully read the chapter.
Finally, have your child look back through or resurvey the chapter and try to further understand and remember the main ideas and important details.
Think about what is being studied and figure out a “point of view.” For example, when studying weather, or more specifically rain, encourage your child to form an opinion about what causes rain. Once a point of view is determined, your child can then decide what information or evidence supports and does not support that point of view.
Formulate questions. While it may seem time-consuming and awkward at first, once your child learns how to make up and seek answers to questions while studying, the task becomes more interesting, fun, and more understandable and meaningful. It is not critical which questions your child asks. But it is essential that he or she ask questions because this will promote an active, involved, and thinking approach to studying.
Summarize. Outlining is one way of summarizing. The simplest way to outline is to use the textbook headings and subheadings, listing the major points covered underneath each heading.
Note taking is another summarizing technique that has been found to be very helpful in fostering understanding and remembering. The benefits of note taking are that your child not only summarizes what is studied but also is involved in translating what is being studied into his or her own words.
Underlining or highlighting important key ideas, facts, and details to be remembered also can be helpful. Organize important facts and information into categories whenever possible. The process of putting things into categories can help your child recognize, understand, and remember essential information.
Take a few minutes at regular intervals to reflect on what was just learned. When doing this, your child may want to talk about what was learned or write notes about it. If your child understands what was just studied, he or she will be able to visualize it and talk intelligently about it during reflection time. If not, encourage your child to reread or restudy the material.

RECOGNIZE ACHIEVEMENTS

A child who receives recognition for academic achievement is much more likely to want to excel in school. Thus, focus on what your child does right - that is, look for achievements. Rememmber that a major key to improving your child’s school success is making him or her feel successful. Train yourself to look for the good things your child does - look for success. Let your child know you like it and encourage it. If you focus on, expect and recognize success, you will get more of it. While it’s important to recognize and pay attention to your child’s achievements,you should focus recognition and attention on those accomplishments that are new or challenging to your child. Excessive recognition for everything, no matter how trivial, can result in your recognition losing its worth or value for encouraging your child to learn and try new things.

TWO FINAL TIPS

Consider the time you have to help, and pick those techniques you have the time and energy to direct and supervise.
Always save time after each session, at the end of a week or at another scheduled time for you and your child to look at what has been accomplished and take pride in those accomplishments.


HOW TO WRITE GOOD:


1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid clinches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

A STUDENT’S EXPECTATION OF A GOOD TEACHER

1) Patience. If someone has a question, don't be rude when they are trying to understand it.
2) Learn when to shut-up. Many teachers I've had in the past keep talking to the class even after they have assigned the class something to do. Then the teacher wants to know why the work wasn't done.
3) Make sure you have a full understanding of the subject you are teaching.
4) Make sure you have at least a decent grasp of the language you are speaking in. It is extremely annoying when a teacher says something like "irregardless" or add a preposition/prepositional phrase to the end of every sentence, whether or not it actually belongs there.
5) We need homework, but don't give us so much homework that we end up neglecting our other courses. We don't want to stay up until 3 in the morning doing our homework just like you don't want to stay up grading it.
6) Be willing to work with your students, but don't be a pushover
7) It is quite unprofessional to come in to class dressed like a 16 year-old high school girl.

UNESCO published a book entitled What makes a Good Teacher? (1996). Over 500 children from some 50 countries aged 8-12 contributed their opinions. What follows are some of their responses.

Response from Web visitors

A great teacher Interacts with the child (physically, and mentally)
A great teacher gives affection to the pupils, makes them understand what emotion is.
A great teacher smiles to his/her pupils even when they screw him up.
A great teacher teaches not only text-book materials but also the truth that's happening outside. Practice balanced with theory.
A great teacher dedicates him/herself to the job. They made a commitment. Then they have to do it.
A great teacher understands that a child is not only a tiny bundle of joy that can cry, smile, laugh. He/she must understand that in front of him stands a true miracle of life.
- Yuventius, Jakarta, Indonesia

A good teacher is someone who teaches not only with mind, but also with heart.
Syanne Helly, East Java, Indonesia

A teacher should have 3 essential qualities.....
BACK GROUND KNOWLEDGE
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
PERSONAL QUALITIES.

There is a saying,"GIVE ME A FISH AND I EAT FOR A DAY, TEACH ME TO FISH AND I EAT FOR A LIFE TIME". This must be a philosophy of a good teacher... She/he should be patient and kind, flexible and resourceful, tolerant and open minded with a good sense of humour; Enthusiastic and enjoys teaching; should be honest; imaginative and creative, Efficient. Self-disciplined. Helpful. Humble and modest........ In my opinion teacher should be like this.
Sheeba Ramachandran, Buraidha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

One who help his students in all respects. He makes his students able to live better life. He teaches students to take decisions in all the conditions. Who is good teacher for his students and also good students for his students and society, having moral character and model for building new good society.
Prafull Bhasarkar, Babupeth, Chandrapur, India

I think that a good teacher should be a good and complete person: curious, passionate, interested about their pupils' interests, wishes, feelings... A really good teacher should be child in his soul which mean, creative, imaginative and ready for exploration etc.
Mirjana Kazija, Rijeka, Croatia

I was graduated as a teacher of English in Albania. What really makes a very good teacher is having a lot of intuition and intelligence because having these qualities you will have the power to understand your students' phsycology and behaviour and helping them out would be much easier. A teacher should also be super comprehensive to understand what's going on in the students'world. And a teacher should know the subject that he/she is teaching.
Migena Mullaj, Reseda, California, USA

A good teacher makes herself available to all students, however, knows which students need extra assistance.
A good teacher is an effective communicator, however, who knows when she needs to change her communicating techniques to be sure students can grasp instructional concepts.
A good teacher allows students to ask questions, however, does not answer questions without drawing from other students' learning experience first.
A good teacher has classroom rules and procedures, which help students know what is expected from them and how the students can help themselves.
A good teacher encourages cooperation and sets an example with other students and faculty.
A good teacher is flexible and able to change lessons "spur of the moment" in order to accommodate the needs of her students.
A good teacher respects all students and encourages good performance.
Marie Garcia, Oyster Bay, NY, USA

A great teacher can be defined by two simple words. Best friend. Who better to trust than a best friend? Who better to love and be loved in return than a best friend? Who better to gain knowledge from, than a best friend? Finally, who better to remember throughout the days of your life, than a best friend? Let's all be teachers, shall we?
Marco Melendez, San Angelo, Texas, USA

A teacher must have motherly love with their students (Means he should be a mother in the school).
He must have Moral character and honesty.
He must be well prepared with his subjects.
He must have a good knowledge of his subjects.
Physically and mentally fit for the job.
He should be active and smart in the classroom.
While teaching he should use so many support materials.
The support material should be prepared himself.
The pupils should be joyful in the class.
Laxman Wadgire, Yavatmal, Maharashtra, India

A good teacher of children understands childhood in an engaging way. She understands that childhood culture is more universal than adult culture, and therefore easier to engage with any place any time.
Kukubo Barasa, Nairobi, Kenya

Everybody will have their own opinion on this because it is impossible to please everybody at the same time. It is very difficult to say what a good teacher is when I am still a student and have seen my share of what a teacher should do. I think that the qualities that a teacher should maintain are the abilities to relate to their students on their on level, make learning fun and easy to understand, be nice so students will listen, make the kids look forward to entering the classroom, and above all.... maintain control.
Katie, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece" (Ruskin) It is fundamental that a teacher cares about humanity in general. Once we love, enjoy and appreciate the individuality of each and every child in our classroom - everything else falls into place. A good teacher takes cognisance of the fact that they are role models for children remembering that we teach more by what we do than by what we say! This is a challenge for the best of us!!!!
Judith Butler, county Cork, Ireland

Using his/her heart in teaching,he/she must love children and able to bring satisfaction in learning.
Dwi Rahayu, Jakarta,Indonesia

A good teacher is someone who can learn from his students, who can learn with them, and for them. He also must be honest in his relationships with students, and proud enough about his own value to work, from there, on helping his students to build their own self- esteem.
Christian Berger, Santiago, Chile

A good teacher is someone who is a learner herself.
Astrid, Perth, WA, Australia

One who has no bias, no fixed point of view, open eyes to see and explore life and learning itself, is the best teacher for he is a child too!
Ashish, Mumbai, Maharshtra, India

I think a good teacher should always show his students the values behind the items he/she is teaching in an exciting and friendly way.
Aly AlSabbagh, Cairo, Egypt

I have been reading through this column - "What makes a good teacher?" The qualities mentioned are great, no doubt, but if a little bit more is added to the forum, I believe the teacher will be a model teacher.
The teacher should be loving, know the children personally in order to help them with their problems.
Caring and sharing nature will help the teacher to know the children better.
Children love and like the teachers more in whom they can confide.
To win their confidence should be the teacher's first aim - though strictness has to be in its place.
Vinod Bala Jain, Meerut, U.P., India

A good teacher represents some of the following qualities: He/She: -
has to be interested in his own subjects and at the same time open-minded for others and other topics.
has to be strict, self-confident and show authority, but at the same time he has to be the pupils' "helper" and quite often even something like their friend who they can talk to if problems occur.
has therefore to find a balance between him representing an authority or a friend.
likes to work with children.
enjoys teaching.
arrives in time to start a lesson and ends a lesson in time because of good organisation and planning.
uses different methods to liven up his lessons and therefore keep his pupils' attention.
has to gain the pupils' interest in his subject.
conveys information and keeps the pupils' attention.
has to be patient.
A good teacher still remains a human being like you and me so that it is obvious that the qualities listed above are useful to keep in mind to be or become a good teacher, but they are only few of the qualities teachers need to "survive" in their everyday life.
Birte Schneeweiß, Dagmar Schulz, Berit Hencke, Kiel, Germany

A good teacher needs (besides a lot of other important features) to provide feedback and consequences to students. It makes no sense if a teacher tells a pupil to leave the class five times. Advice can only be useful if they are taken seriously. Apart from that a good teacher, of course, has to be humorous, friendly (but not too friendly), and well prepared for the lessons. And it is important for a teacher to find the right way between passion for his subject and the interests of the class.
Thomas Tschirner, Kiel, Germany
In brief, a teacher needs self-confidence and knowledge about her subject(s), but the most important thing is that a teacher has to enjoy what she does! She has to be enthusiastic and she has to have a true interest in her pupils!!!
Hannah Gunther, Kiel, Germany

A good teacher
has to be patient
wants to improve his teaching methods
has mastery of his/her subject
has to be motivated to give his/her pupil the same interest for the subject that he has
has to understand how children act
has to remember how it was when he/she was a child
Franziska Lindenthal, Kiel, Germany

A good teacher should be friendly and consequently should listen to the pupils and he/she should care for every pupil in the class.
Christiane Stroeher, Kiel, Germany

A good teacher is well prepared for every session; knows what and how children/pupils want to learn about his/her subject and is so interested in pupils behaviour...; a teacher needs to be respected by the pupils as the teacher of the subject and so talk in a firm and gentle voice; has to make pupils feel successful and of course tries to really make them a successful student of his subject; he has to express/radiate his interest to his subject in a way that the pupils can feel it and start feeling the same...
Torben Wolgast, Kiel, Germany

A teacher should have various qualities. First of all he/she should love to be a teacher and fond of his/her subjects. He/she should be patient with his/her students and be able to explain the subject matter to them well. His/her class should be a mixture of learning by doing and theoretical learning and should be fun as well. A teacher should be a person you can always speak to and be able to give you some advice in case you need help. He/she also needs to be friendly but also a little strict so students pay respect.
Claudia Thiel, Kiel, Germany

A Teacher must know well about:
psychology of children
education psychology
his duties and obligations
the parental behaviour
the methods and techniques of teaching/learning.
Besides,he must have up-to-date knowledge of the subjects he is teaching.
Sajjad Haider, Islamabad, Pakistan

I want to be a guide for "my children": I want them to look to the world, ask themselves questions, see that they can do something, be surprised and curious to learn, grateful for what they have and have respect for eachother and for others... There are so many things that we can do.
Maaike Corteville, Ingelmunster, Belgium


A good teacher is the one who:
is a master in the subjects taught.
always thinks to improve the teaching techniques.
always tries to produce quality students (quality results).
does 'needs assessments' to help students meet the requirements.
Mohamad Hazawawi Yusof, Perak, Malaysia

One who doesn't 'teach' but instead is willing to 'learn' with the child and from the child. The minute one thinks one 'knows' something that very moment he/she doesn't!
Vivekananda Roy Ghatak, Gujarat, India

A good teacher is the one that takes his/her own initiatives to prepare the students to become valuable assets to his/her own country.
A good teacher is the one who cares and is committed to his/her work for the children.
A good teacher is the one with a big HEART.
A good teacher is the one that provides good coaching for his/her students.
A good teacher is the one that has excellent end results.
Stanley Ret, Colonia, Yap State FM

A good teacher never forgets what it is like to be a learner - vulnerable, anxious and dependent! Remembering this, a good teacher looks at a student and sees "only the soul of a human being". A student is a teacher's equal - both leading each other to grow in knowledge, both learning about 'self' and not playing a power struggle for today, both smiling in satisfaction for a job well done!
Susan Sheldon, USA

One who is child friendly, caring, kind hearted, humble, patient, who has the fear of God, who is always ready to give a listening ear, who is not jealous (because most teachers are always jealous and envious of their students), a motherly love.
I feel there should be a rule and punishment for teachers who maltreat and call children names. Teachers are suppose to be children's best friends instead they are their worst enemies. In fact, some children refuse to go to school because of their teachers. Children are not suppose to learn with fear.
I work with a children NGO and they children complain a lot to me about their teachers.
Ngozi Ekwerike, Nigeria

A real friend is someone who knows all about you and still he loves you. A good teacher is a good friend. A good teacher is someone who teaches us like children with love.
Arif Raza, Pakistan


Good teaching is keeping yourself in the shoes of your students.
A good teacher should live his/her life in such a way that those who are watching him/her will not be led astray.
A good teacher should have a teachable heart.
Fe Espiritu, Philippines

A good teacher does not dictate what is written on the book or the curricullum. A good teacher shows the whole wide world to the students.
Mario Martino Rustan (age 18), Indonesia

Today's child will be a man of tomorrow.
Teachers must be a symbol of kindness and love.
Zahid Shah, Pakistan

I think a good teacher must guide the student throughout his needs, both textual and personal. He should love, serve and honour the child.
Amritanshu, India

A good teacher is like a loving parent... fair, respectful, flexible and able to bounce back after even the gravest challenges.
Enitan Mason, USA

A good teacher means someone who plays a role as children's mate in learning, and she/he should be someone who thinks and acts at the best of her/his children's view and growth.
Linda Ivonne, Indonesia

A good teacher is one who challanges her students to be all that they can be.
from Barbara Murphy, USA

Everyone in the world is a teacher in a sense. We all teach something to someone at one point in our lives. However, some of us succed to be great teachers. I believe this happens when a teacher believes in the power of education. When you teach with the certitude that everyone can learn from you. When the student does not learn the way the teacher teaches, then the good teacher teaches the way the student learns.
Ana Laura Garcia Gutierrez, Special Education Teacher, Mexico

A good teacher must be prepared to be foolish if that will help his pupil attain wisdom.
A good teacher, like the good shepherd, must "lay down his life" (sacrifice all) so that the pupil can be solidly grounded in wisdom and understanding.
A good teacher derives absolute satisfaction from seeing his pupil contribute to making life more meaningful to fellow human beings.
A good teacher is always willing to learn from (and of) his pupil.
A good teacher sits at his pupil's feet tirelessly.
A good teacher disciplines himself before anyone else.
Ruth Agamah, Nigeria
A good teacher is someone who will do everything in their power to make every child feel loved and sucessful in some way because all children learn differently and are their own unique individuals.
Mary Kalix, USA

A good teacher must be patient, with gentle but firm voice, can go down to the level of his pupils and willing to learn from them.
from Regina Z. Ubana, Philippines

To be a good teacher, it is fundamental:
to feel like a child
to think like a child
to act like a child
to reason and react as an understanding adult, remembering that one has once been a child, and it's time to revive that child
from Oscar Pacheco

A good teacher must first have been a good student.
from Deborah Barger, USA




"A good teacher is one who can express his\her point of view clearly, who can understand a child's problem, who is ready to help at any time, who knows what is right and what is wrong. A teacher who is very hardworking and friendly too. Who can light the future of child."
from Aruna Hissaria

The teacher is to the students what the rain is to the field.
Zaira Alexandra Rodriguez Guijarro, 11, (Mexico)

A good teacher should treat all pupils like his own children. He should answer all questions, even if they are stupid.
Fatoumata, 11, Chad

To become a good teacher, you not only teach the children but you also have to learn from them.
Tasha-Leigh, 12, Jamaica

A good teacher answers the needs of the pupils and not only the needs of the chosen programme.
Omar, 12, Morocco

I like a teacher who helps me think and get answers for myself.
Bongani Sicelo, 9, Zimbabwe Courtesy: UNESCO

A Teacher’s manifesto on

helping students learn

I will show children what I do to learn, I will demonstrate my learning because learners need to see how it is done.

I will make sure that materials and resources are always available and easily accessible, because learners must have the resources they need to learn when they need them.

I will be available to support children in their learning, when it is important to give them help.

I will allow children plenty of time in which to learn and in which to practice what they learn because learning needs both time and practice.

I will always remember that every learner is different. They will learn different things at different rates. I will monitor each child's learning and make decisions about each one individually
.
I will plan learning programmes with children in order to meet their needs.

I will always let children know what I expect them to learn because I believe they can. If learners really believe they can do it, they are prepared to 'have a go'.

I know that learners make mistakes and that analysing mistakes helps them to develop better strategies for the next attempt. Therefore I will make children aware of their strategies which are successful, and which are not.

I will be an aware and supportive audience for each child. I will be ready to respond positively and as appropriately as I can to their learning needs. Learners need to know how others think they are going.

Dale Gordon (Teacher)

Dale Gordon says: 'Everything that happens in a classroom has an impact on everything else that happens. I always keep in mind the factors that help me learn best. Then, when I am teaching, I can ask myself, is this classroom activity going to help children learn? How would it help me learn? If I cannot justify the activity by saying how it will help, then why am I doing it?