Report card day : Tips for Parents

This Friday "report card pickup day" is a great way to understand your child’s school performance with his or her teacher. Parents should use this time to:

• Visit your child’s classroom.
• Talk with your child’s teacher(s) about how he or she is doing in school.
• Meet with your child’s friends and other parents
• Understand your child's learning environment
• Learn whether or not your child is on track in his or her grade level and discuss any academic interventions that can be put into place.  

  Your child learning environment is instrumental to his/her success in school

  Dr. Danial Goleman

Tips for Parents (Report Card Day) . . .

•  If the result is below your expectation, be careful not to allow your negative emotions destroy your child’s enthusiasm about school.
• If you are shocked by your child’s report card, carefully assess the reasons; focus on how to help your child.
• Talk with your child soon after the report card day. First focus on where your child did well. Point out your child’s strengths. Then ask your child about the areas where he didn’t do as well and set exciting goals for the next school term
• Don’t take up too much of teachers’ time on the report card day. If you need more than 15 to 20 min, make an appointment with the teacher to meet up on a later date.

Parents with lower primary children  (Std 1 - 2)

• Focus on character building. Pay attention to your child’s character, behavior, and social skills as well as academic skills. Ask the teacher how your child is developing socially, intellectually, physically, and emotionally.
• Kids with strong social and emotional skills often have better academic skills and likely to be more successful in life.
• For standard one parents, ask the teacher how’s your child cope with teachers’ instructions, does your child understand the language used in class, and what you can do to support the teachers. (there is no report card for Std 1 on this Friday. Just to meet with teachers)

Short 2 min video from Dr. Danial Goleman

Parents with upper primary children (Std 3 - 6)

• Children at this age are often faced with dropping grades, focus on more study skills to do well academically but do not undermine their emotional state.
• If your child is struggling in a class, don’t take up too much time from teacher trying to come out with solutions on that day. Set up a teacher-parent meeting as soon as possible.
•  Let your child understand although grades are not everything but they do matter. Explain to them high schools and universities consider grades in accepting new students and a good education is important in life.
• Don’t let your child disengage in school. Regardless of the academic result it’s important to keep your kids interested and enthusiastic about school.

No matter what kind of marks your child receives on report-card day, look at it as given a chance to help your child. Focus on achievements, and hopefully you child will look forward to this day in the next school term


P/S: If you can't attend this Friday report card day, your kid will bring it home on Monday.