HOW FAMILIES CAN HELP THEIR CHILDREN

All children have special talents that need to be noticed and nurtured so they will do well in school and in their later lives. In the past, poor students with limited English language skills, and the students from diverse cultures have been overlooked by schools when they selected children for programs for the gifted. Schools used a very narrow definition of intelligence that did not account for the different ways that children show their abilities, or for the fact that some children have difficulty in showing their talents at all. Now, though, schools are using broader – and fairer- methods to identify children with special talents, and the students in gifted programs represent much more varied backgrounds.

Parents can be very important in helping their children develop their talents by working with them at home. Parents can also make schools aware of their children’s talents, and work with them to make sure that their children are in a program that challenges them intellectually and responds to their educational and emotional needs.

Children’s talents should be developed as early as possible so they can achieve their full potential. Parents don’t need to be very educated themselves-or have a great deal of money, or even time- to help their children learn and improve their ability to think and communicate. Here are something to do at home: • Set high academic goals for your children. Tell them that success is possible, that they will benefit later in life from doing well in school, and that families and their teachers expect them to do well.

• Talk to and play with your children. Have conversations about current events, what’s happening in the neighborhood, and what you all did during the day.

• Ask your children to pay attention to the way people speak on the radio and TV. Talk about why learning to use good English speech patterns will help them in school and later in life.

• Pay attention to what your children like to do, such as a hobby, drawing, or working with numbers. Help them develop those skills or find out where in the community they can participate in learning enrichment activities.

• Take your children to places where they can learn. Find out about story times at the library and bookstores, and about children’s events at museums centers.

• Take a parenting course in the community or at school that teaches how to develop children’s talents.

• Find a mentor in your family or community who can help your children develop their talents and serve as a role model for academic achievement.

• Find out about early talent identification programs so that when your children begin preschool they will receive an education that challenges them.

• Set up a quiet study space for your children and help them with their homework, or find them an after –school program that provides a place for studying without distractions.

— oOo— The author is Master Teacher I at Porac Elementary School, Porac East District