Stress-free success is hard to come by in high-pressure learning environments, but you can help ease the pressure for your child. Gregg Good, head of school at the Montessori High School at University Circle, provides tips about how to help your child succeed at independent learning.
Engage 24/7: Independent learning is most effective when parents continue the intellectual conversations outside of school. “The best thing that [parents] can do is to try to continue or re-create that investigative- or inquiry-based environment in their own homes and in their own interactions with their kids,” says Good.
Be a role model: Everyone hopes their kids will see them as role models, so balance your own work and play in a way your child can emulate that, at the same time, teaches them time-management. “We want the parents to be modeling those time-management skills,” Good says, “but at the same time modeling the importance of balance and demonstrating to their kids that there are things they do to try and relax as well.”
Develop partnerships: Reach out to organizations your child’s school works with and see what they have to offer your child outside the classroom. “I would also encourage parents in whatever way they can help to develop those partnerships,” Good says. “Parents can be our best ambassadors for those things.”
