Back to School Resolutions For Your Child

Focus on the Big Picture and Longer-Term Goals

It’s somewhat of a routine by now. You start the school year with big plans and ideas on how to manage things differently for your child. But then, the schedule picks up pace, the first school work comes home, the same problems surface again, and there you are—back to putting out fires, marooned in the day-to-day.

One way to write that story differently is to think more formally about what you want for your child long term (your end goals) early in the school year, articulate those goals, and share them with your child. Then, frequently refer back to those big goals as your North Star.

By focusing on end goals we mean prioritizing the skills that will actually make a difference in your child’s life and career – such as learning independence, love of reading, love of learning.  As opposed to the minutia of homework, test results, busy work – unless you see being a professional test taker as being a crucial life skill of course!

Love of Learning – Career Skill

Arguably, the most important career skill is the love of learning. Love of learning promotes:

1. Adaptability: In today’s knowledge economy, industries and technologies evolve rapidly. Those who love learning adapt and pick up new skills and knowledge as needed.
2. Problem Solving: Individuals who enjoy learning tend to explore different perspectives and solutions, leading to more innovative problem-solving.
3. Career Growth: People who actively seek out new knowledge and skills are more likely to advance in their careers and take on new opportunities.
4. Resilience: Learning fosters resilience by helping individuals navigate challenges and setbacks. Those who enjoy learning are more likely to persevere through difficulties and use setbacks as opportunities for growth.
5. Leadership: Leaders who value learning set an example for their teams. They encourage a culture of continuous improvement and development, which boosts morale and productivity.
6. Networking: Learning can also enhance networking capabilities by broadening one’s knowledge base and enabling more meaningful interactions with peers and mentors.

K-12 Curriculum vs Love of Learning

Here’s the problem. Schools do not teach love of learning.  If anything, the testing, the homework, and the pressure all work together to erode love of learning. That leaves you as your child’s love of learning guardian.

Children fall into three similar-sized groups per the NAEP:

• Healthy learners – sailing through school
• On track – with effort and occasional help
• Falling behind – more each year

For healthy learners, school is fun.  We love what we are good at and if we are good at learning, chances are we love learning. And we have the resilience to shrug off occasional difficulties, sometimes called the Matthew Effect.  If this is your child, happy days.  Mainly, it’s about not pushing too hard, maintaining momentum, and preserving that precious love of learning.

Furthermore, the K-12 curriculum for healthy learners helps them earn good grades, and get into good colleges or whatever else they want to do.  For them, the jam packed school curriculum is fine, not a problem.  Tests are not a problem. Everything is aligned.

Goals For Everybody Else

However, this article is not about the first third of learners; it’s about the remaining two-thirds.  For those children, the K-12 school curriculum and lifetime goals are not always aligned. In fact, they’re often at loggerheads.

And that’s where you come in as a parent. You need to think about realistic end goals for your child and turn them into back-to-school resolutions. Schools tend to think in one-year increments, naturally. This leads to a lot of short-term busywork or minutiae, which can get in the way of a love of learning. Here are some thoughts.

If Your Child Is Not Reading, Focus on That

Until the end of 4th grade, elementary school is mainly about learning to read – learning to read is a long journey.  That’s important to know. That gives you the time frame when your desire to read and the school’s desire for your child to read are in sync.  Once the school moves to “read to learn” mode, though, in 5th grade or earlier, and if your child is not reading well, then you and the school are no longer aligned.

The school focuses on curriculum content. You should focus on getting your child to reading proficiency.

If Your Child Is Reading Around Grade Level

If your child is reading at or around grade level, but does not enjoy reading or resists reading, those are warning signs, especially in elementary school. Reading should be as easy as listening – effortless, automatic.

If your child does not enjoy reading, it could be a clue that reading takes too much effort and isn’t yet automatic. Most often, the best way to manage this is to focus on what your child reads. Know your child’s reading level and push back on books that are too difficult and likely to frustrate.

For these children, reading success is likely as long as your child keeps reading.  Reading with comprehension at a high school level takes a lot.  Once a child gets over the reading hump in 4th and 5th grade, where the focus moves from decoding to comprehension, the path to reading proficiency is mainly about practice, putting in the reading miles.

If Your Child Is A Long Way Behind, Act Now

If your child is more than a grade behind in K to 3rd grade, time is short. You need to be proactive. Getting your child onto a better learning track should be your single back-to-school resolution, your overarching and most pressing goal.

Remember, while the school is teaching your child to read right now, reading instruction tapers off in 4th grade. After 4th grade, learning to read is not the school’s focus unless your child is on an IEP or is getting extra help.

So it’s a high priority to get your child on track for high school reading proficiency as soon as possible. If you have a sense that is not happening, get on it with a laser focus. If your child does not learn to read on time, everything else suffers – learning confidence erodes, homework gets harder, grades deteriorate, and most importantly, all of this can eat into a child’s inherent love of learning.

Gemm Learning helps here.  We provide reading interventions at home, that’s one approach.  Depending on your child’s reading problems, there are of course other options. If you are not sure of your child’s reading level, we can set up a free online reading assessment here.

Back To School Resolutions

When thinking about back-to-school resolutions, there are considerations.

First, how to meet academic end goals for your child, not just for this year, but by the end of your child’s school career.

Second, what living life goals do you have, what kind of person do you want your child to be, what things do you want your child to keep top of mind.

Third, what good learning habits should I encourage, focusing on long-term learning prowess? Again, being a good test taker is not one of them. Being a professional student is not an end goal. It’s a means to an end.

Specific Ideas

Here are some back-to-school resolution ideas:

1. Protect love of learning. When the homework is too much and testing is too frequent, push back if it’s affecting your child’s love of school. Share your concerns with teachers; don’t stress your child out over tests; negotiate a balance.
2. Nurture love of reading.  If your child is reading, don’t let her fall off the wagon! Keep an eye on the books being read, etc. If your child is not reading, make this the school year where that changes. You have options.
3. Establish Routines: Successful people tend to have routines. Examples include a dedicated time and workspace for homework, reading time, and clearly defined exercise or sports/music practice times.
4. Set Academic Goals for the Year: Goal setting is healthy.  Pick a goal in collaboration with your child for each semester – e.g., a grade target in one subject, a book target (named or described by number of pages or grade difficulty per AR).
5. Be Independently Organized: This would vary by age. For elementary age, it might be about organizing a backpack or simple time management; for older children, it might be about planning.
6. Prioritize Health and Well-being: Resolutions might include getting enough sleep each night, eating well, and staying active.
7. Seek Help When Needed: It’s important for your child to recognize when she needs help and then to ask for it.
8. Develop Positive Relationships: For children who are shy or introverted, a goal might be making friends by joining something and/or having a new positive role model in their life. After all, it takes a village!
9. Reflect and Adjust: This goal is a must. Keep an eye on your child. Celebrate wins, and look out for issues. It’s a long-distance race, and course corrections are not a sign of weakness; they are part of every journey.

Pick 3-4 of these resolutions or come up with your own, print them out, post them on a noticeboard somewhere, and revisit them often throughout the year. Best of luck!

If your child is behind and you are worried, check out how Gemm Learning helps.