What do you think?
Rate this book
12 Ways Your Child Can Get The Best Out Of School
A jargon-free guide to your child's education and how you can help them thrive at schoolFor Australian children to achieve their full potential in a rapidly changing world, they need a high-quality education. However, experts and teachers can't do it alone. In fact, all the research shows that parents and carers have a big part to play.In 12 Ways Your Child Can Get the Best Out of School , Professor Adrian Piccoli, Director of the Gonski Institute for Education and former NSW education minister, sets out clearly what you need to know to ensure your child receives the quality education they deserve. Jargon-free and easy to understand, this book will empower you with the knowledge and advice you need to make a difference, What to look for when choosing a school What questions to ask at parent-teacher interviews What is NAPLAN and does it matter Homework - why, why not, and how much Supporting children with special needs What does the ATAR really mean Setting high expectations and handling stress Managing screen time and the role of technology at school.With clear and concise advice, case studies and more, 12 Ways Your Child Can Get the Best Out of School is for every parent and carer who wants to help their child flourish and do well. And, surely, that's all of us.
288 pages, Paperback
Published January 29, 2019
3 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2019
Very easy read. Insightful, considered and very helpful. I got a lot out of this guide.
April 25, 2019
I strongly recommend this book to all young mums. U will get all the info u want to know about yr children’s school and education. Very informative and practical:)
August 10, 2019
Key points:
The first 5 years of a child’s life is critical in determining how they will do at school.
Too much screen time too soon is bad for young children.
Children with parents with higher income, who stayed at school longer and continued on to vocational training or university tend to do better at school.
Children exposed to a lot of words tend to perform better at school.
Parents should tell children what a great time they had spent at school because children look up to parents as role models.
Minimise child’s exposure to stress
Encourage unstructured play that parents don’t control
Early childhood education plays an important role of allowing children to learn self regulation
Direct link between children attending quality early childhood education and higher achievement
Parents should be interested in children’s school life
Be conscious that children are watching not only what you say, but what you do.
Never undermine the teacher, the principal, or the school in front of the children
Have lots of books at home to influence children in a subtle way
Children need to know how to resolve conflict, to compromise, to forgive, to let go.
To err on the side of older rather than younger when children begin at school.
Make sure the teacher knows as much information as possible to the child.
Don’t compare children with anyone else’s children, don’t stress
Avoid repeating a year.
Ask how school deals with student behavior and bullying
Bullying is not single episode of nastiness and aggression
Cyber bullying vs face-to-face bullying.
Make sure to report bullying
Don’t take dealing with bullying into your own hands
Don’t listen to gossic. Make your own informed decision
Maintain a 3 way communication among teachers, students, and parents.
Children should have the ability to delay gratification.
Share seismic events that happen at home with the school.
Never confront a staff member or another parent physically or aggressively
Do not just support your children, but others’ elsewhere (by participating school events)
Send kids to school everyday and on time.
Parents set high expectations for children, and children set expectations for themselves
Praise the progress more than the outcome. The effort is the reward in and of itself.
Encourage the children to break their ‘Personal goals’
High expectation is supposed to generate motivation, not anxiety and stress
Don’t tell children that simply because they have particular natural talents you expect a certain outcome from them.
It’s dangerous to set blacck and white performance expectations. Like ‘did you make it or did you fail’
Don’t tell your children that you are bad at anything.
Help children handle stress and failure
Homework is not a very effective at improving academic performance in primary school.
Students need immediate feedback to maximise the benefit
Don’t do homework for your children.
Ask children specific questions such as ‘what conversation did you have with your teacher’ rather than generic questions such as ‘How is your day’
School reports are not informative enough.
Make sure what the child reads is at the right level.
Don’t over interpret a school’s NAPLAN results. ‘Student gain’ or how much a student improves is a more important indicator.
Choose elective subjects at high school
Choose subjects that the kids are good at. Pursue strengths and pursue passions.
Face-to-face interaction is extremely important.
Excessive screen time increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and mood disorder.
A crucial skill is the ability to delay gratification, to resist a smaller but immediate reward in order to get a bigger reward later on.
Invite children to set up their own rules about screen time.
Boredom is good for children as it leads to creativity.
Knowing how to handle boredom is a critical skill to success at school
Teaching is a social activity. It’s about interaction.
The first 5 years of a child’s life is critical in determining how they will do at school.
Too much screen time too soon is bad for young children.
Children with parents with higher income, who stayed at school longer and continued on to vocational training or university tend to do better at school.
Children exposed to a lot of words tend to perform better at school.
Parents should tell children what a great time they had spent at school because children look up to parents as role models.
Minimise child’s exposure to stress
Encourage unstructured play that parents don’t control
Early childhood education plays an important role of allowing children to learn self regulation
Direct link between children attending quality early childhood education and higher achievement
Parents should be interested in children’s school life
Be conscious that children are watching not only what you say, but what you do.
Never undermine the teacher, the principal, or the school in front of the children
Have lots of books at home to influence children in a subtle way
Children need to know how to resolve conflict, to compromise, to forgive, to let go.
To err on the side of older rather than younger when children begin at school.
Make sure the teacher knows as much information as possible to the child.
Don’t compare children with anyone else’s children, don’t stress
Avoid repeating a year.
Ask how school deals with student behavior and bullying
Bullying is not single episode of nastiness and aggression
Cyber bullying vs face-to-face bullying.
Make sure to report bullying
Don’t take dealing with bullying into your own hands
Don’t listen to gossic. Make your own informed decision
Maintain a 3 way communication among teachers, students, and parents.
Children should have the ability to delay gratification.
Share seismic events that happen at home with the school.
Never confront a staff member or another parent physically or aggressively
Do not just support your children, but others’ elsewhere (by participating school events)
Send kids to school everyday and on time.
Parents set high expectations for children, and children set expectations for themselves
Praise the progress more than the outcome. The effort is the reward in and of itself.
Encourage the children to break their ‘Personal goals’
High expectation is supposed to generate motivation, not anxiety and stress
Don’t tell children that simply because they have particular natural talents you expect a certain outcome from them.
It’s dangerous to set blacck and white performance expectations. Like ‘did you make it or did you fail’
Don’t tell your children that you are bad at anything.
Help children handle stress and failure
Homework is not a very effective at improving academic performance in primary school.
Students need immediate feedback to maximise the benefit
Don’t do homework for your children.
Ask children specific questions such as ‘what conversation did you have with your teacher’ rather than generic questions such as ‘How is your day’
School reports are not informative enough.
Make sure what the child reads is at the right level.
Don’t over interpret a school’s NAPLAN results. ‘Student gain’ or how much a student improves is a more important indicator.
Choose elective subjects at high school
Choose subjects that the kids are good at. Pursue strengths and pursue passions.
Face-to-face interaction is extremely important.
Excessive screen time increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and mood disorder.
A crucial skill is the ability to delay gratification, to resist a smaller but immediate reward in order to get a bigger reward later on.
Invite children to set up their own rules about screen time.
Boredom is good for children as it leads to creativity.
Knowing how to handle boredom is a critical skill to success at school
Teaching is a social activity. It’s about interaction.
February 13, 2019
With a child going to school next year, this book could not have been more timely.
Great advice on how to manage relationships with your child and the school, and now I understand how important that is. It also explains what to expect and what to look for at each stage of schooling.
Excellent book, and will definitely recommend it to friends.
Great advice on how to manage relationships with your child and the school, and now I understand how important that is. It also explains what to expect and what to look for at each stage of schooling.
Excellent book, and will definitely recommend it to friends.
Read
July 22, 2022Very easy read, you can skip chapters and only focus on the area that you are interested (for now). A good summary book to help with better understanding of schooling as well as Australia education systems.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews