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The middle school years can be an exciting and challenging time for children, as academic responsibilities increase, and they step ever-closer to high school. Parents should make sure that their pre-teens are prepared to excel in high school and beyond, but it may become harder to figure out what they are actually learning as they grow older. At this age, the wonder of school may slowly wear off and you may find the answer to “What did you learn at school today?” tends to be “Nothing.” Luckily, there is guidance available. States have established standards that outline what students should be learning in various subject areas at each stage in their education. Standards provide a clear direction and a challenge to teachers, students and parents. To better understand how standards apply to your child, discuss the issue with your child’s teacher. “Standards let us know what we as a community expect our children to know and be able to do,” says Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D., vice president of education for Sylvan Learning Center. “Standards also let parents know what their children are going to be learning. They let students know what expectations the school, the teacher and their parents have of them.” Dr. Bavaria says it is important that parents review how standards will be assessed. “It is critical for parents to know what curriculum their children are going to be studying so they can be as involved as possible in their child’s education. When parents know what is going to be taught, they can then play an important role in supporting their children and prepare for assessments.” As a starting point, consider the following questions to gauge what your child is learning at this point in her schooling. Is my child mastering the writing process? Children need to recognize that there are many steps to producing a piece of written work. Your child should be able to devise an outline to plan her work and follow through to achieve a coherent, grammatically sound end result. Knowledge of different types of writing is essential. For instance, your child should be able to notice distinctions between writing a book report and writing a short story. She should also know the importance of proofreading her work for spelling and clarity. Your child should be comfortable using technology for assignments, but watch for over-dependence on functions such as spell-check and the thesaurus. “Writing skills are important because not only do state assessments require more and more writing, but writing helps a person to clarify his thoughts and to express them concisely and meaningfully,” Dr. Bavaria says. “A person who writes well thinks well.” Is my child gaining an increased historical understanding? During these years, children will acquire knowledge of historical events, as well as an understanding of the overall impact of history on current events. Your child should be able to design and evaluate timelines and be familiar with various historical sources such as artifacts and eyewitness accounts. Notice if your child thinks critically about history and can analyze current events in light of historical events. Is my child learning about scientific inquiry? For many students, science class can be a fun break with its potential for hands-on-learning, but it can also be daunting if students feel they cannot grasp the concepts. It is important that your child comprehends how scientific investigations operate from a hypothesis through observation and finally interpretation. Science assignments and projects can be positive learning experiences if your child approaches them as logical and manageable. Is my child developing problem-solving skills? Now that your child is proficient in working with numbers, he can apply this to more complex problems such as those tricky word problems. Check to see that he can break problems down into smaller components and determine which information is useable. Being able to manipulate larger quantities of data is necessary for your child to be successful in more advanced high school math classes. “Problem-solving skills allow children to think creatively and to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations,” Dr. Bavaria says. “The whole purpose of education is to apply what we know to our lives.” By Heidi Neuzil |
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