Classes will resume soon and yet you’re not too keen on welcoming the new school year as you believe that your child’s school is not helping him in his learning process. Perhaps your child is gifted and thus the mainstream curriculum bores him. It’s also possible that you think your child’s school doesn’t offer enough options for sports, skill building or activities outside of the academy. There’s also the possibility that, owing to budget cuts or mismanagement, you have seen the quality of teaching in your child’s school has deteriorated in the past few years. This is something that really bothers you as this might hurt his chances of getting into a top tier university.
It’s too late now to scout for a new school that will best fit your child. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t give him options to enhance his learning process. Here are some ways to give your child a well-rounded education without having to resort to transferring him to another school.
1. Encourage your child to join extracurricular activities
Many parents feel that their child needs other sports options or activity that is not offered by their child’s school. For example, you observed your child is adept at playing golf and is in fact mulling of playing golf in college. But his school isn’t offering a golf program. What you can do instead is sign him up in a junior golf camp – with the agreement that his practice shouldn’t interfere with his studies.
This doesn’t only apply to athletics. You can give options to your child who have other interests. If he’s artistic, you can enroll him in a painting workshop. If he’s the outdoorsy type, then you can arrange hiking/camping weekends with him. With so many workshops and camps available, you can always enhance your child’s education without having to rely on formal academic curriculum.
2. Hire a high quality online tutor
Online tutoring can help enhance your child’s education by letting him learn subjects that were not adequately covered by his school’s academic curriculum. Hiring a top notch online tutor will give your child a chance to delve deeply into these subjects as he enjoys the luxury of one to one tutoring.
Or, perhaps, your child is breezing through math class. You may then get your child an online tutor to explore a higher level of math. There are many ways that online tutoring can be used to improve your child’s education.
You and your child will benefit from the flexibility that only an online tutor can offer. If your child is having problems doing his homework in the evening or afternoon, all he had to do was to log in and contact his online tutor. Reputable companies that offer online tutorial services provide secure login before your child can contact his tutor.
If you want to know your child’s progress, you can get his progress report anytime by just logging on the tutorial website. You can also contact the tutor to discuss your child’s concerns.
3. Homeschooling
Have you ever considered homeschooling? More and more families are homeschooling their children because they are dissatisfied with their children’s education options. For example, you may want more religious/moral education incorporated into your child’s curriculum. You can best tailor your child’s education to their needs and your wants. Homeschooling allows you the ability to choose what and how your child learns subjects as long as you meet government guidelines.
Homeschooling is now a legitimate option for parents who want to provide an alternative learning environment to their children. Several states recognize homeschooling and some prestigious universities including Harvard, Stanford and Princeton are more open to accepting homeschooled students.