This week’s Ultimate Transformation Moment seeks to re-establish some of the basic ground rules for academic achievement.
Turn off the television. The first rule during the school week, is to minimize the amount of television your children watch. If you would like, allow them to treat themselves during the weekend, for the duration that you are comfortable with. But during the academic week, the television remains off.
Second rule: require your child to read at least 30 minutes every day in addition to any homework they may have. During their first few years, after they become readers, have them read aloud to you. What they read is less important than the fact that they are reading. Know this, if your child can learn one new vocabulary word per week in a year’s time, 52 weeks, they can raise their I.Q. by 10 points.
Third rule: focus on math skills. Regardless of the grade level, always review the basics. Not only must they know their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts, they should have them memorized, and know them quickly. The better they are with the basic facts, the better they are moving into Algebra, Algebra II, Trigonometry and all the other advanced mathematics courses.
There will be more than 1.2 million jobs in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM-related) occupations by 2018. The kindergarten through 12th grades are critical times for learning these advanced math skills.
Finally, rely on your community. We all have busy work schedules and sometimes it is tremendously helpful if one neighbor or family member hosts several children for study/homework gatherings. The host parent may monitor the homework, check on due dates, and make sure the children understand the importance of meeting deadlines and getting the work done on time.
It also helps each other, because not every parent can get home every day at five o’clock, have dinner ready and help children get their homework done. So, let’s start to form small groups in the community or family, where our children can gather in one home or library to study together, and review what needs to be done on a weekly basis.
Look, our children are our responsibility and as parents it is our job to set these guidelines for their success. Their academic success opens many doors. Once the doors within them begin to open, youngsters become free to create and work on the genius within. We are here to lay the foundation.
That’s our Ultimate Transformations Moment. Peace and be more.
