Academic success can open many doors for young adults. With a school system faced with many challenges, it is important for parents to prepare children for their academic journey. Academic success is not always guaranteed, however there are many things that can be done to improve its likelihood. The importance of early education and development is not to be underestimated. It starts at home with the parent or guardian. This is the importance of Early Education and how it prepares children for the academic world.
The value of Early Education in school readiness
A parent or guardian’s involvement in early development can have a great impact on academic readiness later in life. Knowing that there is support at home encourages learning at school. Children should be excited to learn. There is so much a child has not yet experienced or learned in this world. Remember that everything is new and exciting to them. The advantage of this is that even before school starts, there is plenty to learn. By developing an interest in learning, at an early stage, they will be more engaged at school.
It’s not all about learning during early development. A stable homelife allows children to focus on academics. By providing a stable and engaging homelife in early years, a child is assured that there is support for them. They are thus more capable of focusing on learning and what is important to them.
An early interest in learning will follow a child all the way to adulthood making future academics, and life, easier.
Challenges faced
The South African school system faces many challenges. The better prepared children are in early life, the better they will be able to adapt to this system. They must be able to take full advantage of the opportunities they find.
Socio-economic problems, poor government support, ineffective teaching approaches and more can make learning difficult. Whilst there is limited control on these issues, it is possible to prepare children for them. The better prepared for school and academics they are, the more likely they are to find value in what is available.
Academic institutions aren’t ideal for everyone. Some methods of teaching aren’t suited to some students. Learning disabilities and other special needs aren’t always seen to. In this regard early learning can help identify what style of teaching might be most beneficial to a child. Early teaching may also help to overcome these challenges as a child learns to adapt and find value in non-ideal environments.
This is why it is important to prepare children so that they can learn and achieve academic success regardless of the state of the current educational system.
How to help
It is important for parents to start as early as possible to get a child prepared. They should make full use of the early development stage, before schooling starts (ages 0-9). It is however never too late to start.
The best way to help children to develop is an easy one. Spend time with the kids. Children learn from their parents’ behaviours and actions. Every moment spent with them is a moment for them to learn and grow. It is also valuable in allowing parents or guardians to recognise how the child learns and what interests them. Recognising and dealing with learning disabilities or other challenges early on allows the parent to seek help early on.
Simply providing a stable homelife is also greatly beneficial to current and future learning. If a child feels secure in their surroundings they can focus on the important things in life.
Encourage learning at home with activities like reading. The COVID-19 lockdown has taught many valuable lessons on how learning at home can be achieved.
Parents and guardians who show an interest in learning serve as an example to children. As a whole, the examples that parents set have a big impact on a child’s behaviour. Teaching discipline and good behaviour at home creates less disruptive behaviour at school.
The education system provides opportunities for children to learn and reach their full potential. It is important to properly prepare them to make full use of these opportunities. A parent or guardian must have the tools to do this. The Early Education Centre hosts parent workshops and a number of other services to ensure the academic success of children. Raising children is tough but The Early Education Centre is here to make things easier.