OCR Text |
Show Children can avoid poor academic performance students. Forty percent of 13-year-olds and 16 percent of 17-year-olds attending high school have not acquired ac-quired intermediate reading skills and strategies. As some students proceed through school, their enjoyment of math and confidence in mastering the subject wanes progressively, according ac-cording to the NAEP's Reading Report Card. Parents ready to push the panic button because of a child's poor academic performance can learn to anticipate school problems before they become serious issues, according accord-ing to Dave Rodriguez of the Sylvan Learning Center. 'Taking positive steps early before a learning deficiency becomes a problem, or before a child loses interest in school because he is not sufficiently challengedcan make all the difference. differ-ence. Waiting until the school year is half over and your child is well on his way to slumping grades is a program for trouble,' noted Rodriguez. Precautionary measures can include in-clude enrichment courses designed to expand learning and to challenge interest starting the first day of the school term. "Many times parents wait until well into the school year, when teachers or counselors send home warnings. By then they are forced to hold their breath, hoping the child will be able to stay abreast of the class's progress," Rodriguez said. Parents should seek out enrichment enrich-ment study programs with course work tailored specifically to enhance strengths and overcome weaknesses. The enrichment study experience should be as orderly and well-planned well-planned as possible. The program should complement the entire education edu-cation process, rather than being a mere Band-Aid applied in reactive haste. ' A careful program of supplemental sup-plemental education tells a child this his learning needs are important year-rounda far more positive approach ap-proach than giving glaring attention to problems and slipping grades at report card time," Rodriguez said. An early start with a program of enrichment study also allows prompt and continuing emphasis on proper study habits. Good study habits are the foundation to a child's whole education and future achievements. Developing proper study habits early in a child's school years ensures that he can make the most of classroom instruction. instruc-tion. Learning skills are critical building blocks for children. They form the foundation of more complex, com-plex, advanced literacy and comprehension com-prehension skills, reports the National Assessment of Educational Educa-tional Progress (NAEP) in Learning to Be Literate in America. School children must develop the ability to understand a variety of increasingly in-creasingly more difficult materials to progress successfully along a path to literacy. Failure to develop learning skills, reinforced and amplified through good study habits, can become an overwhelming obstacle for many |