“7 Guiding Principles for Parents”

Summary of article

“7 Guiding Principles for Parents” 

By Laura Lee

Edutopia 

April 3, 2020

As millions of students across the K-12 spectrum shift to at-home learning because of the coronavirus threat in the United States, parents are scrambling to understand their new role as surrogate teachers. It will require equal parts patience and tenacity. “This is going to be messy,” wrote educational leadership professor Jennifer Weiner in The New York Times, before giving parents and teachers permission to try and fail “and that is OK.” 

Establish a Flexible Work Space.  Tailor their space to their work.  Move furniture and props to fit their learning needs. Set clear expectations and set parameters for what kind of work occurs in which spaces, but give them choices.

Check in Every Morning and Through the Day. Use lightweight ‘checks-ins’ and vary the question to get a sense of how your child is feeling.  “What color best represents how you’re feeling today? Why?"

Allow Frequent Brain Breaks.  For young students, research shows that brain breaks improve attention span. Breaking lessons into smaller, more manageable chunks helps students focus. Older students need breaks every 20-30 minutes to maintain focus and energy.

Find a rhythm that works.  For the teenage brain, a later start and more sleep can mean better memory and retention. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises starting an adolescent’s school day no earlier than 8:30am. 

Consolidate learning. Consolidation means that students are retrieving information frequently and then making new meaning of it. Many studies reveal that teaching what you’ve learned to someone else—to a parent or to another sibling—is also a highly effective way to consolidate learning and make it stick.

Encourage productive struggle.   Allow students to wrestle with problems before intervening. 

You want your kids to continue to push themselves, and praising hard work is more effective for building endurance and tenacity.

Consider passions and play. Build in time for passion projects and fun. Household activities like cooking or organizing offer the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills. Play and exercise can actually alter brain structure in ways that improve memory, attention, mood, and cognitive function.