Tips to help underachievers

Northwest Life: Saturday, October 19, 2002

Some tips for parents on helping underachieving students.

• Check for: learning disabilities; hearing and vision problems; drug or alcohol abuse.

• One word: homework. "Research tells us that kids who are successful in school spend about 10 hours a week with homework," said Yvonne Jones, a certified educational planner with the Seattle-based Education Advisory Group.

• Stay in active communication with teachers. Don't wait for progress reports or report cards. Check homework hotlines or Web pages. In some cases, ask teachers to sign off on daily assignment sheets so you know exactly what is expected.

• From kindergarten on, set up a regular time and place for students to do homework. If there isn't any homework — and confirm this is true, with chronic underachievers — use the time for silent reading or playing an educational game. Parents can help by also sitting by the child and writing letters or paying bills, for example.

• Find a fun hook that's not directly school-related to get kids interested in learning. For younger children, this might be improving their reading so they can figure out video-game directions. For older ones, it might be volunteer work in a field of interest or connecting with a mentor in a career they hope to pursue.

• Don't offer a constant safety net. "Some kids don't see any point in working because they know it doesn't matter if they don't — their parents will always save them from failing," said Christina Hannan, director of education at the Seattle Sylvan Learning Center.

• Be extremely consistent in enforcing rules. "If homework is to be done before play then this should always be the rule — not just on days when you're paying attention and not distracted by your own chores or telephone calls to return," notes Ruth Peters in "Overcoming Underachieving."

• Insist middle- or high-school students use a daily planner to write down homework and upcoming tests and projects.

• Don't accept the child's word if they say they've finished their homework, Peters advises. Check it and compare it to what's in their planner. Quiz them on test subjects. Make sure homework is returned in a specific folder so it's not misplaced.

• Build on your child's talents and interests. Look for alternative magnet schools, for example.

• Track long-term assignments on a calendar (mark, for example, how many pages of a book must be read each day). Set a timer for daily homework, with a small reward for finishing before the ding.

• Make sure children aren't too busy with extracurricular activities. But don't cut them out entirely. "There's a tendency for parents to say, 'You're not doing sports unless you keep a B average,' " Jones said. "But sometimes that affiliation helps kids structure their time better and gives them a positive adult role model."

• Don't compare your child to others. "He may not be like you or the child down the block," said Anne Rambo, author of "I Know My Child Can Do Better." "Enjoy your child for who he is and affirm his strengths."

• If your child does better on hard assignments and makes careless mistakes on easy ones, he may be underachieving out of boredom. Find enrichment programs to keep very bright students challenged.

• Stay calm and in control when applying consequences. Don't get mad or cave in when the child resists or vows to change.

• Find tutoring help or work on phonics drills if children don't read at grade level. Problems with reading are discouraging because it takes students so long to figure out assignments in all subjects.

• Hire a "study buddy," a high-school junior or senior to help students finish homework. "Most kids love working with a older student because it's so much more fun," Peters said. "And it takes mom and dad out of it."

• If you have a child who lies about assignments (or lack thereof), ask the school for copies of teachers' signatures so your child can't forge them.