Long-Term Planning Is Needed for Success at School and University

If you don't have a target you cant hit it — If you don’t have a target you cant hit it

One of the most important tasks parents face is managing their child’s education through Pre-School, Primary School, High School, College and University.

It is important because so much is at stake – the rest of your child’s life.

Managing your child’s education is extremely difficult because there are so many variables – and there are no instruction manuals. In fact, even the experts disagree on the right approach for just about everything so it is even difficult knowing where to go for help and advice when you have a problem.

If You Don’t Have A Target Then You Won’t Hit it

Most parents are so daunted by the job of managing their child’s education that they pass most of the responsibility over to the schools. On the surface this seems like a sensible idea – but you only need to look at the national and international test results to see that most of the children in our schools are not reaching their full potential.

If you want your child to get the full benefit of his/her education then you need to take an active, hands-on approach.

For a start, your attitude to education will have an impact on your child’s success. You need to take the time to discuss the future with your child as he/she grows up. Children with goals usually go further than those who don’t – the Australian Government’s Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth have found that educational goals formed by students in Junior High School are strong predictors of Year 12 completion and participation in further education and training.

What Will You Do When You Grow Up?

How many times were you asked this question when you were growing up?
- A lot.
How did you feel when you were forced to answer this question?
- Pressured to pretend that you had decided before you even knew what you were getting yourself into.
Did you end up doing the career you said you wanted?
- The scientific evidence shows that most people don’t.

While planning an education with your child is very important, do not try to get your child to commit to a profession early in life!

When discussing education with your child it is important to keep the goals open-ended. I suggest you help your child set educational goals that will enable him/her to have the maximum choice of career when the time comes for that decision to be made.

When other people ask about career choice teach your child to give fairly open answers like this:

‘At this stage I am considering being either a pilot or an architect but I haven’t made a firm decision as yet. My first goal is to get good marks at Year 12, especially in Maths and Physics.’

Attitudes to Failure Will Impact on Learning

Carol Dweck, American researcher and author of the book ‘Mindset – The New Psychology of Success’ has done extensive research on the impact of a people’s Mindset on their success in education.

The majority of people have what she calls a Fixed Mindset – when they experience failure they feel bad and inadequate. This leads them to give up easily and only do things they feel good at.

A smaller group of people have a Growth Mindset – when they experience failure they view it as a challenge because they believe in their potential to change and develop through learning, work and experience.

The results of Dweck’s research projects repeatedly show that people with the Growth Mindset usually outperform the Fixed Mindset students at University and in later life.

It is quite a challenge to teach a children how to develop a Growth Mindset, and even more of a challenge to help them maintain it throughout their education. I suggest you read Dweck’s book every couple of years to help you keep your child on track.

The Magic Ingredient – Language and Learning Skills

So far I have talked about the importance of attitudes and planning, but all that will come to nought if your child does not also have BOTH highly developed Language Skills, AND highly developed Learning Skills. You see, good Language Skills are needed to develop good Learning Skills, and vice versa.

As soon as there is a mismatch between a student’s Language Skills and Learning Skills at a particular stage of development, learning in all academic subjects will become more difficult for the student, and progress will slow.

The KISS Principle Fails: Keep It Simple Is Stupid

I’m sorry to disappoint you but there is no simple solution – to reach your potential you need all of these things – none of them is sufficient on their own.

You need appropriate planning, goal setting and decision-making strategies.
You need a positive approach to failures and a belief that you can overcome your current weaknesses – we often call this ‘confidence’.
You need to continually develop your Language and Learning Skills so you can overcome your current weaknesses.

The Secret is to Start Early and Enjoy Ourselves

Don’t be daunted by the enormity of the task of managing your child’s education. Seek help when you need it, but most importantly, TAKE THE TIME TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION EVERY WEEK.

And don’t see the time you spend doing things together as work – enjoy your time with your child – then you will both get a lot out of the time you spend together.

For younger children, lots of talking and listening is important so plan activities which involve interaction. Make things, cook, read books, wash clothes, clean the house together, go shopping at the cheap shops for crafty activities, go to the library and the park.

Take the time to look over school books and assignments together and discuss them.

Avoid using phones, computers, DVDs and TV as babysitting devices – right through school.

As your child gets older, read the books they read – then discuss them together. Read all their school novels too. Child and teenage fiction often deal with issues that you can discuss such as friendship, family problems, technology, bullying, loneliness and setbacks. It is a great way to build your relationship, and it is a great way to keep developing yourself too.

Set up routines such as reading a chapter of a novel together every night before bed – take turns to select the novel.

You Only Get One Chance So Don’t Blow It

The job of parenting can be very overwhelming at times. It takes a lot of time, money and effort to run a household and educate children. And then you need to deal with the unexpected – sickness, injury, car breakdowns and so on.

That’s why it is so important to have a few routines that you try to stick to no matter what – like reading together for 15 minutes before bedtime. It will ground you both so you will be in better shape to handle the challenges of life as they come along.

Chris Brooks
Principal
High Performance Learning

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