Curious Parents Education Resources

Back to School

Start the School Year Off Right—By Staying Involved!

By Phil Carroll

It’s that time again! How could it be that June has turned into September so quickly? Students moan and groan; parents rejoice. As we start to see the yellow buses back on the streets and the flocks of students laden down with enormous schoolbags migrating to schools, it is prudent to take into account what we—students, parents, teachers—separately, and collectively, can do to make the beginning of another school year a success. Problems that arise in December or March many times are present because a proper foundation was not laid in the summer and September.

Before we get to what we should do as the school year begins, it would help to take a look back for a minute. Even though the summer has passed, the fact that it only just ended gives us an important opportunity to reflect on what we did and didn’t do, so let’s take stock.

Did your kids have fun this summer? Really, did they get the chance to relax, hang out with friends, and do the things they normally can’t or don’t do during the school year? Summer is a special time in a young person’s life. The memories created will last a lifetime, providing many fond reminiscences throughout life. So I hope they made the most of sleeping in, of playing in the neighborhood, and of those beautiful long summer nights. But did you prepare for school?

Once school is in full swing, homework will once again be a part of their, and your, life. Homework takes discipline. Turning off the TV or the video game is hard to do. Preparing yourself will make it easier. To prepare for homework, have them read a book without any distractions.

Parents: I hope you enjoyed not having to deal with all that goes into rushing your children off to school: waking up grumpy kids, making sure they’re dressed, fed, and equipped with everything they need for the day. I hope you enjoyed the absence of report cards, homework, and calls from teachers. But on the other hand, I hope the discipline and routine of the school year didn’t completely die. Maybe your children went to camp or perhaps worked. You never get a vacation from raising children, and that’s a good thing. Getting your children involved in some type of structured summer activity—camp, work, etc.—will help keep a routine in their life.

Now that summer is behind us, we must look to what we can do to transition well and get the year off to a good start. The transition from carefree summer to stressful September and beyond leaves a lot of frazzled people. Keeping that in mind, what can we do to keep our sanity? Get and stay involved. While your children may be excited to get to see friends in school that they haven’t all summer, more likely than not they would rather have the freedom of summer than the prison of school. Imagine that. When you pack off your kids that first day of school, please refrain from jumping for joy and celebrating the fact that your children are now the teachers’ problem. When your children come home that first day, find out what happened that day in school—and find out every day after that. The following are not acceptable answer to your questions of what happened in school, whether or not there is homework, or whether there is something that needs to be shown to you: “Nothing”; “I don’t know”; “I left it at school”; “We had a substitute” (especially on the first day!); and “I’ll do it (homework) in homeroom.”

In the first few weeks of school, your children’s school will have a Back To School Night. Go! Introduce yourself to all your children’s teachers. Write down their contact information and give yours to them. Find out what your children will be learning in each class. What books will they be reading? (Reading a book at the same time as your children helps in many ways: family bonding and helping your children with any difficulties they may have with the book, which ties into the former). Also find out what supplies will be needed. Then let your children know you are armed with this information. They will be less likely to slack off and act up if they know you know what is going on in their day. Many, too many, of my students have failed, either a marking period or the whole year, because no one was involved at home. This is evident when I call, e-mail, and send notes home to a parent, and I hear nothing back.

The temptation to slack off as the year goes on will not only strike your children. It will get you too. For the sake of your children’s success in school, and for your own personal sanity, stick to the routine you’ve established. Many future headaches and heartaches can be avoided if you do just that.

Phil Carroll is a freelance writer and teacher from Philadelphia.