A child’s first teacher is their parent(s). From their parent(s) and their environment, children begin to learn the social norms and expectations of our society. A child also learns to value or learns apathy towards education from their parents. Unfortunately, more children are learning apathy towards education which is causing major problems for public education.
Student readiness is one of the major problems plaguing public education. More children are beginning their formal education experience in the first grade unprepared academically, socially, and behaviorally. This lack of readiness has placed children behind and has teachers spending more time with remediation of academic tasks such recognition of alphabet, numbers, and shapes and colors.
Teachers also have to spend time working on student socialization and behaviors. Teachers are spending more time getting students to sit down in their chairs, to listen, to follow directions, to use appropriate language and prevent fighting. Learning how to acclimate to the school and classroom setting can be very frustrating to young first graders who have not been prepared by their parent(s). By the time a teacher get students somewhat acclimated to the classroom routine the school year may be half over. When the school year ends, some students may not be ready academically, socially, or behaviorally for promotion to the second grade. These students may be left back in the first grade for an additional year or be promoted even though the student may not be ready for second grade.
If young children are going to have a chance to succeed, the elementary level will provide them with the foundation for future academic, social, and behavioral success at the higher grade levels. However, the foundation cannot be built without basic school readiness skills that are the responsibilities of the parent(s).
The parent(s) children need must provide the basic school readiness skills. The first is a desire to learn. Children are curious and exploratory by nature. Children in their early interaction with the world ask a plethora of questions that lead to more questions. It is the responsibility of the parent(s) to cultivate, encourage, and guide children to develop an excitement and desire to learn. The second is a desire to read and write. Developing pre-reading skills and pre-writing skills is crucial to academic success in the elementary years. Children early on learn to read, recite, and write based on symbols they see and hear during their everyday interaction in the world. Children use words to describe their needs and they quickly learn that symbols are connected to word. Children can speak recite and write their version of the McDonalds symbol, more than any other fast food brand. Parents must utilize this desire to read, recite, and write to develop an excitement for reading, reciting stories (sometimes in their own version) and writing stories of their own. When a child asks their parent(s) to read the same story over and over again, the child is solidifying their love of reading, developing early comprehension, developing pre-word recognition and developing creativity.
Third, the parent(s) children need must provide them with boundaries. It is the responsibility of the parent(s) to provide children with routines that help them to develop an understanding of societal norms. Prior to entering elementary school, parents must teach their children the rules and expectations of school and classroom culture. Children must learn how to appropriately interact with the teacher and other adult staff in the building and how that interaction may differ from the way they interact with family and friends. Children must understand they are to respect their teacher and other adult staff. Finally, children must learn how to appropriately interact with their peers in the classroom and on the playground and how this interaction may differ from the way they interact with their siblings, friend at home and family members of the same age.
These are the parent(s) children need
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