Morning Minute 2/11/25:
“How Do WE Improve Student Learning!”
Our national government is returning control of education back to the states. This is necessary to reverse the decline in student learning since the year 2000.
“What changes are required to reverse this trend?”
In a recent Morning Minute entitled ‘How Do People Learn,” I shared the 5 ways that people learn as they process information. Those are listening, seeing, doing, reading, and writing. How well students develop these skills will greatly influence their success as adults. Let’s examine some areas that will promote student learning when used by teachers, students, and parents.
As the first, most influential teachers of their children, parents set them up for success by requiring them to be respectful and responsible as they learn right from wrong. Good manners and simple tasks such as proper bathroom usage, making their beds, plus putting their clothes and toys in their proper place, teach children the benefits of discipline and organization. Parents should begin reading to children as infants so they will learn to love reading. As children enter formal schooling, parents must set expectations for what they must learn. Parents cannot expect great performance, if they do not hold children accountable. They must monitor their progress by working with teachers in a joint effort to encourage both learning and skills development.
Teachers have great influence on WHAT children learn by understanding HOW they learn. Using a mixture of listening, seeing, doing, reading, and writing, teachers will make learning fun and effective. Praise for good work encourages good performance. On the other hand, teachers must require students to be accountable for doing their work. Incomplete work or work not submitted on time must be penalized. How will children become responsible adults if they are not held accountable for poor performance in school. This includes eliminating social promotions to the next grade.
Reading, and understanding what they read, is critical for student’s success as adults. As such, textbooks must be issued and used by students. Assigning homework, and having them take these books home, allows the parents to assist the teacher’s efforts, and to see what their children are being taught. Electronic notebooks and computers are great tools that can be used for updated and current information. However, they are no substitute for reading, notetaking, and studying the information in books.
Students must participate in their studies and do the work, as they develop the habits and attitudes leading to their success as adults. Their behavior must support their own success, and the success of their classmates.
School board members are tasked with aiding community efforts to help children grow into responsible, productive adults. That requires adequate funding and support for both teachers and parents, both of whom are responsible for children’s education.
As a lifelong learner, I support, teach, and champion continuous learning. Since success is never final…learning never stops. And, we must accept our shared challenge to ensure that each generation is better prepared for success than the last.
“How Do WE Improve Student Learning!”
That is today’s Morning Minute.
