Dayna Fields

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With more distractions being introduced everyday and thousands of advertisers competing for our children’s attention, it is more important than ever to get involved with your children’s education.

Studies show that children perform better in all subjects (and walks of life) when parents have an invested interest in the child’s academic performance. However, it is all too easy these days to simply sit back, relax and trust that your kids are learning everything they need to learn for school (and life).

In this slow Chicago market, many parents are busy working one or more jobs in addition to their regular adult responsibilities, which makes it hard to find time to help kids with homework or school projects. Or parents may simply be too tired to ask what their child learned in school today?

Whatever the case may be, it is important to be an active participant in your child’s education. Some parents feel useless since they do not know algebra or science or European history. However, simply asking your kids about their classes, assigned homework and upcoming exams is a great way to be involved and show your kids that education is important to you. Whether you are a Chicago freelance writer, a scientist, a furniture maker or a personal trainer – chances are good that there is an area of study in which your specialties will be very useful.

Many kids get by on memorization, which is fine for short-term learning but not so good for the long term. Kids who rely on memorization instead of the actual learning process will not retain that information for future needs. However, memorization is good enough to pass an exam. Because of this loophole in the education process many kids feel as though “learning” is just a matter of transferring memorized information from the study guide to the exam. In reality, we want our kids to learn the concepts of the material for the long haul.

Simple things can be done to improve your child’s grades and outlook on education. The first step starts with letting your kids know how important learning and education is to you. Even if it appears that they are not listening, things heard from the mouth of a parent have a better chance of resonating with kids. The second step is to get involved with your children’s academics, whether it means asking them questions, helping them with their homework or preparing them for an exam.

Finally, once your child has learned the material, have him or her teach it back to you. That means that you are the student and your child is the teacher. Studies show that the act of teaching material to someone else is the best way to learn the material yourself and remember it for the long run.

The reality is that not every parent has the time to be as involved in their child’s education as they would like. However, many parents don’t realize the enormous effect one small comment could have on a child. Talking to your kids about their school work is a simple first step for anyone to take and there will never be anything anyone says to your child that will have more of an impact than if they heard it from you. You have the potential to make the biggest impact on your child’s education and it all starts with one question: “What did you learn in school today?”