How to contribute to the success of our child's exams
On some occasions I have spoken with parents about education, the issue of exams has come up, and I have found myself on the one hand with detractors who want to eliminate them, and on the other hand with advocates who consider them a good way to motivate students. Beyond whether or not we agree wit
On some occasions I have spoken with parents about education, the issue of exams has come up, and I have found myself on the one hand with detractors who want to eliminate them, and on the other hand with advocates who consider them a good way to motivate students.
Beyond whether or not we agree with the existence of these tests, the reality is that our son is within a society that considers exams as a way to evaluate their knowledge. Therefore, the most effective is that we help you to address these tests in the best conditions. And we, the parents, can contribute to the success of our child's exams.
How to help our child's exam success
What does it mean to succeed on the exams? Of course, approve them, and if possible with good grades. But that success goes even beyond the good grades or the results that our son can get. The real success of an exam is that it becomes a source of educational training for our children not only for the subject, but for other aspects. And we, the parents, can contribute to the success of our child's exams, how? En - At some point, we can talk with our son about certain basic aspects that allow him to prepare an exam well. The first of all is evident, that
to overcome it, you need to know the subject well; studying it with interest can make it easier . In this sense we can highlight some positive feature of what you are studying: "Mathematics allow you to develop reasoning" or "Learning language will help you to express yourself well".- The la personal safety of the child
is also successful because it is possible to approve it thanks to his abilities; and not only the intellectuals, but other personal ones such as their desire to work, their perseverance, their ability to express themselves, etc. - We can discuss with him the immediate motivation to make this effort with enthusiasm: the fact that it will help him to pass the subject and therefore to continue his training, so that this test is " another step to reach be what you want "
, we can explain.- We stop here to influence the goal of studying. At some point it is beneficial to inquire about your desire for what you want to be when you grow up. We can tell you thathaving an education will allow you to be more prepared to achieve it
. If it is a profession that needs a university career as a doctor, architect, computer, etc, it will be very easy to make the connection of that achievement with the study. Even if you talk about a profession that does not need a university career but specific skills, such as footballer, cook, etc., we can influence the fact that, by studying and completing your training, you may have better opportunities to develop that profession. Por - On the other hand, it is interesting to reflect on the fact that preparing an exam and achieving the goal of approving it can help our son to develop the sense of self-improvement. This desire for personal improvement is going to need his whole life to achieve in different areas, both personal and professional. So an exam is a good training to start practicing it. Por - Obviously, getting a good grade is the right objective and it is a joy for the child, but
if he does not get it, we can value his effort and remind him that what is important is all that is capable of improving and advancing. We also deal with him if he needs to influence some aspect such as being more persevering or finding a solution to obstacles: maybe he needs to study more time, learn study techniques, extra explanations, etc.Guidelines to help our son study an exam
- Plan : in order to contribute to the success of our child's exams, we can help you organize yourself to study in a timely manner. We talk to him about what goes into the exam and what he knows or has difficulty learning.
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Clarify . Studying with enough time means that you have the option to ask your professor any possible doubts, and, if necessary, we can also carry out some necessary explanation.-
Help . Review with our son if he asks us for help or we see the need to do so. In any case it is important to leave space for autonomy. It is about knowing that we are there to support you in what you need.-
Concentration . Another important aspect at the time of studying is to teach him to concentrate. At the time of the study there is no distraction around: no apparatus, no noises, no other external stimuli that divert your attention from the study. We can make the comparison of the study with driving: to reach our destination we have to be attentive to the car and the places where we are going.Throughout the process, we make it clear that we trust in their possibilities, which are very good. He has the capacity to learn like any other boy or girl: "You can get it, just like your classmates" is something that we can explicitly tell him or make him feel. If necessary, we remember the past achievements to strengthen your confidence: "Last year it was hard for you to learn the table of the nine and in the end it turned out that you were the best you knew, remember?"
In turn, our confidence in your ability of work and effort has to be evident and that is what we make it look like. We can tell you concrete phrases about how you are doing that contribute to that security, for example: "You have worked very well, you have completed it with all the details" or "You have studied very concentrated, and so you learn it better. "Our confidence, together with the support for their autonomy, contribute to maintaining perseverance in the effort with motivation and enjoyment until achieving success.
