A student’s academic and all-round development is not just up to the school. The parents need to be involved at every step so as to keep track of the progress their ward is making over the academic year. While it may not be possible for them to do so every day, considering they would be busy with their own professional lives, the school offers parent orientation programs to discuss various aspects of the student’s schooling.
This parent orientation program is usually held once every month to bring the parents up to speed about their child’s progress as well as give them an idea of the various teaching methodologies being employed at the school. By doing so, the parents would be able to implement the learning process at home as well, ensuring the student doesn’t lose continuity in learning. They can also suggest other, more creative ways to teach, which could aid in the better learning of the students.
Many issues are discussed in the parent orientation program, including the school curriculum and the subjects being taught. This provides the parents with a clear idea of what the students are learning currently and how it will aid them in their careers in the future. By having a regular update on the subjects being taught, the parents will be able to keep track of the progress being made by the student, as well as suggest any changes they may feel would add value to the student’s learning.
Child development is another area the parent orientation program focuses on. The teachers and the parents can discuss the progress being made by their students, and discuss problem areas to find a solution. By involving the parents in the process, the school ensures the student will be given due attention to areas of improvement at home as well, and ensure they can improve their performance. The parents can also bring up any problem areas they see with their child or with the teaching process so that solutions can be discussed and implemented together.
The way the student is assessed is also discussed in these sessions. There are various assessment methods used and the parents are given a detailed understanding of how the grading works and what the child can do to improve their performance. By doing so, parents can understand the student’s report card a lot better and will be able to inherently figure out where he or she is lacking in. Understanding the assessment method is an important part of the process for the parents.
Apart from the above items on the agenda, the program would be open for participation by the parents to bring up any other problems or topics for discussion in the forum. This way, all the parents of the respective class students can be involved and an acceptable solution can be reached by consensus. The parents are encouraged to interact with other parents as well as the teachers during the program, as only then can they bring out their issues that need to be discussed.
While every child has their own strengths and weaknesses, these parent orientation programs help in telling the parents what they can do at home to address those weaknesses. For example, some students do not read as many books as they need to, apart from those in the curriculum. In the interactions, the teachers encourage parents to try and ensure their ward picks up more reading as it would help in the all-round development of the student. It would ensure their language skills improve as well as their communication skills, which are extremely important in today’s world.
