What can parents do to excite
their children about school and learning? A former national Teacher of the Year
provided the following suggestions.
First, he said, promote a
culture of reading at home. Reading is the gateway to all knowledge and is
fundamental to academic excellence.
Computers are wonderful tools,
but they cannot replace books. Reading stimulates the imagination and
encourages creative thinking.
So read with your children.
Discuss a book or an article in the car, while walking, and at the dinner
table.
Turn reading into a pleasant
event by taking children to libraries and bookstores once a week.
Give them an allowance and let
them choose the books they want without questioning what they’ve chosen.
Don’t insist that they always
read “educational” material. A lifelong love of reading can start with almost
any book or magazine.
Stimulate your children’s
curiosity. Children need to be encouraged to ask “Why?” when they don’t
understand something. Learning is a constant process, and children sometimes
think this process is over once they have an answer.
They need to be taught to push
for more answers. So when children ask “Why”? -- Don’t respond with a pat
answer. Ask, “What do you think? Or “Why
do you think that’s so?” Or, “I’m not
sure; let’s look it up.”
The goal is to spark their
curiosity so that it becomes fun to learn new information.
