The end of the 2021 academic year has come to a fold and as expected report cards are out. This is ofcourse, a stressful time for the child’s.
When children bring home a school report, they may worry about how you, as a parent, are going to react. The truth is there isn’t one right thing to say. But it is important to look beyond what grades they received.
Amanda Morin, an educational specialist and freelance writer, shares five common school report situations and tips for talking about them:
- Grades have improved, but less than you expected.
Better grades mean your child is making progress. Keeping that in mind lets you talk about what’s working well. It also opens the door to talking about what might help bring up the rest of their grades.
- Grades and behaviour need improvement.
When the news is not great, you might be tempted to jump to some kind of punishment. Punishment doesn’t help children to do better next time. Being realistic and talking about it with your child helps. Then come up with a plan to help make it happen.
- Grades stayed the same, but behaviour and effort improved.
When you look at your child’s school report, grades are usually the first thing you see. But don’t forget to look at the teacher's comments to learn about other areas of improvement your child is making.
- Some grades got better, but some got worse.
As our children get older, the expectations for learning change. It can be harder to meet them in some subjects. Talk with your child about the classes that had lower grades this time around. Ask whether there’s anything about them that’s hard, and what would help.
- Poor grades in most classes, even though your child is working hard.
If children are working hard and still struggling, there’s a good chance they already feel bad. And showing that you’re committed to figuring out together, about what’s happening, can be a confidence boost. It tells them you’re in it together.
The most important thing is, if they are progressing and not falling behind. But if they are falling behind, let us help and support our children to get back on track.