The Magic Touch

The opportunity to teach young children is a wonderful thing. Whether it's your own child, or someone else's, it is quite rewarding to see them grow and advance before your eyes. What many parents and caregivers don't realize is...

You have the magic touch.

How much personal time do you spend with the child? Whether you are a parent, grandparent, caregiver, etc., you spend a lot of time with them. You get to know their likes, dislikes, and how they tick. Think about how much actual 1 on 1 time your child will have with a teacher once they get to school. My son's half-day PreK class size is 20. Add in bathroom breaks, snack time, transition time, etc. and there isn't as much time left, let alone 1 on 1 time with the child.

That's where parent teaching shines.

How much time do you have with your kids in a day? A week? I've posted in previous blogs about how learning can be done everywhere (If you missed them, check them out). A restaurant, grocery store, outside, home, or wherever you are with your child is a learning environment with your child.

I have taught in many types of classrooms and especially all ages. Also, I have tutored little ones all the way to college students. It's always the same result no matter where I've been. No matter the teaching style or approach you are always at a slight disadvantage with teaching if you don't know the student. Now, as they go along, I get to know what makes them tick and what catches their interest, but imagine that for a teacher in a classroom.

Elementary teachers may range from 20-35 students in their class. Imagine having that many kids at home and getting to know every fine detail about them. Picture a high school teacher, that teacher has 5-6 classes a day for a non-block schedule. The way class sizes are going now, anywhere between 20-35 students can be in that classroom (I've had 37 in a class before). They have a much shorter time with them each day and WAY more students to remember. Can you imagine? That can range up to 120-210 kids a day!

The number one thing I asked parents when they approached me asking for help when their students were slipping in their class was,

Are they getting help at home?

Most of the time, their faces were shocked that I would ask such a question. 95% of the time, the answer was no. Instead of working with the child first, whether going over their homework, helping them study, or going over the reading, they immediately came to me for assistance. Now recall how many students a teacher can go through a day and imagine how quickly things can get out of hand if a few parents from each class approached me for extra 1 on 1 time...

Statistics everywhere show that parents that work with their kids, even if it is just going over their homework with them, gives the child a much higher chance of success in school over those who don't. I encourage you to look up your local school testing scores. How many students passed the reading equivalency? Math? In schools all over the country, those numbers become more and more shockingly low. Parents have stopped working with their kids and use other means to "teach" their kids for them.

You have the magic touch. Use it.

What will you do today?