We have all heard that there are some children who slip through the cracks when it comes to childcare and education. These are children that somehow get through highschool without even having learned how to read and can hardly write their own name. As adults, they will find it difficult to gain employment, do their tax, understand or fill out forms and even do the grocery shopping.
Most mothers who want to give their child the best child care, try to ensure hope their child leaves school well-educated, but what can they do about it if their primary age child is simply not coping at school? There are many factors that mix and mingle to cause children to have trouble learning basic skills such as reading, writing and simple maths. Bullying, changing schools often, dyslexia, illness, days missed for other reasons and so on.
If you don’t think these are affecting your child, or if you have worked with the teacher to see what can be done but their grades are still not very high, it could be time for a bolder approach. Not all children are suited to the kind of learning environment that is by necessity used in public primary schools. In many, the class numbers are large and cater to the middle learners. Slow and very fast learners will both have problems in this environment.
In addition, some children get really frustrated at not having time to finish what they started – and if they are a bit slow, this will be most of the time. They may even stop trying when they know they’ll have to move to another subject before they get halfway through the current one. It is not the teachers fault, as they have to work within the system. Nor is it the fault of the child.
Casting blame is useless; what needs to be done is to find a way that caters to the child’s needs while they still learn what is necessary for a good education. A private school may be considered if it is a smaller one with fewer students in each class. Yet small schools often have fewer resources as well.
Home schooling is another way caring parents try to help their children. Yet this does not always work out. Both parents may have to work, or there may be younger siblings that cause many interruptions in the learning process. The parent who teaches may not be good at organisation or for that matter at teaching, which is a skill in itself.
What can help is a different way of teaching. The Montessori way of teaching is often successful in addressing this type of problem. They have very small classes and the child can spend as much time as they like on their chosen topic.