According to the National Report Card (via NPR), reading and math scores have declined in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. With children transitioning to online learning throughout the two-year gap, they were met with circumstances no one has ever dealt with before. As a result, they are now feeling consequences that no one has ever dealt with before.
With children still acclimating to school amidst the pandemic, here’s what you can do to ensure your child’s future success in education.
Consider a Tutor
If your child is struggling in school following COVID-19, one of the ways to combat that is by hiring a tutor. Tutors are a great way to get your child engaged in schoolwork. They also provided much-needed one-on-one support for subjects that your child may otherwise struggle in and not receive support in through school.
Some benefits tutoring can provide include:
Helping your child catch up if they are falling behind
Exam preparation assistance, especially for math/science exams
Homework assistance
To find a tutor, parents can start by inquiring about such with higher-ups at school. Guidance counselors often provide a great start and can point you and your child in the right direction. Furthermore, parents can also synergize with other parents whose children may also struggle with similar subjects — making finding a tutor much easier.
Encourage Your Child to Utilize Extra Help Hours
If extra help hours are offered at your child’s school, encourage them to use them! Extra help hours are usually provided by teachers after school and can be of great benefit to your child, who may be struggling in particular subjects. It’s a small sacrifice children have to make (staying after school to learn more) to improve their grades.
Plus, it’ll reflect great on them as their teachers will see your child being proactive in trying to better their grades! Kids can also benefit from forming study groups by going to extra help hours together. They can then synergize outside of the classroom to help each other out with problems and equations that may be difficult to solve on their own — providing an excellent post-COVID-19 social benefit as well!
Encourage Good Study Habits
Studying is probably not the most fun thing for your child to do after school, but if they’re lagging behind in certain subjects in light of COVID-19, installing good study habits in your child can help them improve.
One important thing your child can do is set aside time for studying. It’s important to be realistic about how much time you really need to dedicate in order to adequately prepare for class, whether it be through reading, memorizing the material, or completing practice problems from the textbook. Moreover, set goals for each study session and use them as motivation throughout your preparation process!
It’s also important to find a quiet place to study. The noise level of your environment can have a significant impact on how much you learn.
Dealing with COVID-19’s Educational Fallout
We hope that by now, you and your child feel more prepared amidst the educational fallout of COVID-19 in your child’s classroom. We know it can be scary and overwhelming, but we think that if you take these steps to help your child with their studies, they’ll be able to bounce back quickly!
