It is difficult to be a parent in our busy society. With all of the demands of work, family and financial obligations, finding time to take part in school related activities may seem overwhelming. However, regardless of the amount of available time you have on your calendar, there are numerous ways to remain an involved parent throughout your child's academic life. Remember when your child first entered school. You were excited, and you made sure to visit the classroom often, you tried to attend all of the school functions and you listened patiently as he or she related the day's activities. As the years went by, however, you may have found it more difficult to be involved in your child's experiences in school. Perhaps it is because your child has seemed embarrassed to have you come to the school. (This is common! Many young people react this way to parents who want to be involved.) Perhaps it is because you don't feel welcome at the school. (Hopefully, this is not the case, but if it is, address your concerns with your child's teachers. They will, most likely, welcome your desire to take part and will help you find a way to be involved in the school.) Whatever your reasons are for being less involved than you were years ago, now is the time to jump back into the role of an involved parent. It is important for you to be involved at the secondary school level because your child is going through many hormonal and emotional changes in his or her adolescent years. Although many young people don't admit it, having a parent around gives them a sense of security they need desperately at this critical time of their young lives. Also, research has shown that young people who have parents that remain involved throughout their secondary school years are more likely to complete college.

Ideas for Getting Involved (Note: These suggestions are based upon interviews with teachers, parents and students.)
1. Volunteer to be a chaperone on a school trip. This is an opportunity for you to take part in an experience your child will have outside of the school environment.

2. Volunteer to work in your child's school as a tutor. There are many children who don't have a parent who is able to help with their work. While you may not be working directly with your child, you will have a chance to see some of the activities taking place in the school and your child will know you are taking an interest in the school.

3. Attend school functions, such as student plays, musicals, band recitals, poetry readings, dances, or sporting events.

4. Attend parent/teacher conferences. While these are generally scheduled a couple of times each year, don't hesitate to set an appointment at another time if you are concerned about your child's work or have reason to believe that something is wrong.

5. Take part in school committees. Our school has personnel available at the school to give parents guidance on ways they can be involved. Call the school (760-1780) and ask what committees need parents to join. You can also attend the parent meetings on the first Monday of each month in the Wildcat Room. Contact Mrs. Green-Roberts for details at the number listed above.

6. Take your child to the Flint Public Library or one of the many local bookstores on a regular basis. Encourage him or her to read books which are not assigned at school, but are to be read for the sheer pleasure of reading. When possible, read the same book as your child and discuss it with him or her. Also, try to schedule a family reading time in your home when everyone in the house picks up a book and reads for at least half an hour .

7. Set up a homework schedule for your child and help him or her to adhere to it. Be available during this time to help with questions your child may have. If you cannot be available, make arrangements with your child so that you can be sure that the homework has been done. For example, if you work nights, and won't be home until your child is in bed, have him or her leave the completed homework on the kitchen table for you to read.

8. Maintain contact with your teen's teachers. Whether you write notes, make phone calls, send e-mail messages, or visit the school, be aware of what is happening in each classroom, and be aware of how your teen is doing in each classroom.

9. Offer encouragement and hugs! Your teenager is going through a difficult time in his or her life. Knowing that there is an adult at home who cares makes a big difference! Everyone needs to know when he or she has done well. We all also need to know that there is someone there who cares when something goes wrong.

10. Encourage your child to write daily. Show an interest in his or her writing, and perhaps share samples of your own writing with them, especially if you have any creative writing you have done. Even trying your hand at writing a poem, short story or play with your child can be a fun experience. Maybe the two of you could even write a book together.

There are many other ways you can get involved! Try to be creative and consider your teenager's unique personality and needs.
 

How to Help Teenagers With Writing Skills

Your first step in helping teens with their writing skills is to determine which areas are problem areas in their writing. The four most important factors to consider when assessing writing are listed below, with suggestions for how you can work with your teens to improve in each area:

1) Focus--Do they understand the need to focus on one
topic? Can they construct topic sentences? If this
area is a problem, use newspaper or magazine articles as
models and help them break the articles down by finding the main
idea and examining how the writer kept the focus upon that
idea.

(2) Support--Do they understand the need to support a
topic with specific evidence? Discuss the use of examples,
details, etc. Again, use written examples to make your
point. A story, either non-fiction or fiction, would work.
Once your teens have determined the main idea of a paragraph
or short story, have them pick out the details that help
to support that main point. For support, I especially like
to teach my students to use sensory details. (Details which
tie in with the five senses : sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.)
Then, have them go through a story, looking for images which
connect with any of the five senses. They could then attempt to write
a paragraph (or story, if you prefer) in which they use
sensory images to convey the details.

(3) Organization--Do they organize their details in a
coherent manner? Practice with them by reading about
some event that happened, and then listing in  order
the details of the event.  Then, have them tell you
about something that has happened to them in the past
(i.e.: a vacation, an exciting event, an embarrassing moment,
etc.) Help them  list significant details of the story in the order
in which they happened. Then, using the list, the teen can then
write a story, keeping close watch over how to organize the details.

(4) Sentence Skills--Does they have trouble with spelling or
grammar? Practice proofreading with them. Use a grammar
book and a dictionary to practice problem areas. It might also
be helpful to go over old essays which have been corrected by
a teacher to find specific problem areas.  Help them
set up a word bank in which trouble-some words are
recorded and reviewed on a frequent basis.

After you have evaluated your teens’s writing, and you have worked with your teen in the four areas which are listed above, hopefully you will see an improvement in his or her writing skills. If, however, you do not see an improvement, you might consider hiring a tutor to work with your teen on a frequent basis. Your teen’s teacher is also an important resource. Ask him or her for advice on how to help your teen with writing.
 
 

Additional Resources

I highly recommend the workbook Sentence Skills by John Langan.  It is a workbook style grammar and writing guide that you can easily use to work with your teen.  I have a copy available in my classroom which I am happy to loan to parents for use at home.  Since I only have one copy, I do request that the book is checked out only on the weekends or during a break period when it will not be needed by students for reference during a class.  (My suggestions above for assisting your teen with writing are based on the strategies and ideas expressed in this workbook.)

While a dictionary, grammar book, and thesaurus should be available for your child to use at home, there are also numerous online resources that may be helpful. I have posted links to many valuable resources on my website which can aid you as you help your child with his or her reading and writing skills. The address for my website is http://www.oocities.org/SoHo/Den/8512.
 

When you use your home computer, The Common, Edison’s website, is set to automatically open when you go online. This website offers online tools such as dictionaries, research links, and online encyclopedias. If you cannot access this site, contact our technology department (810) 760-1780 for assistance.

Contact Information

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. The best time to reach me is during my planning hour and lunch hour (12:40-2:15.) My phone number is (810) 760-1780, extension 1423.
You may also e-mail me at my Edison e-mail address: kabailey@northwest.edisonschools.com.