Are you to blame for your child's poor performance in school?

Does your child actually understand what they are reading? Poor comprehension is a major contributor to bad grades and frustration at school. It is often assumed by teachers and school systems that if a child does not have good comprehension by the fifth grade they never will. This is completely false.

Comprehension means understanding what you read. Not just saying the words, but truly understanding the meaning and being able to explain what you have read to someone else.

According to The National Adult Literacy Survey, National Center for Education Statistics: Nearly 50% of the Americans surveyed cannot read well enough to find a single piece of information in a short publication, nor can they make low level inferences based on what they read.

According to ACT(The independent, not-for-profit organization American College Tests, Iowa, 2005), Only Half of ACT Test-Takers Have College-Ready Reading Comprehension Skills

Many children and adults assume that everyone has the same understanding problems they do. Some assume they simply can't read well, quit trying, and go on with their life. They do not realize that there are methods to improve comprehension.

Unfortunately, many students never receive the training they need in elementary and middle schools. The teachers may cover the basics of reading but never spend time teaching students comprehension methods. Teachers often assume that children either get-it or they don't. This type of teaching has led to many frustrated students falsely assuming they are less intelligent than others. They were never taught to read like other students. The result is that they have no interest in reading and do poorly in school.

When a child enters high school, the teachers do not have time or interest to re-teach them how to read. Students are then bombarded with more reading requirements and expected to understand more advanced materials. They simply do not have the skills do perform well because they cannot understand what they are reading.

Who is to blame for this? The school systems can take some of the responsibility, but ultimately it is parents who have failed their children.
We all know that children whose parents read to them at a young age do better in school, but have you ever wondered why this was so? Parents are actually teaching reading and comprehension skills to young children. Even if the child is not old enough to read, parents can model skills for them that they will use later. The interactive experience helps a child build reading skills which makes them more prepared when they begin school.

Parents often misunderstand how this teaching works. The parent may read mechanically to the child which results in a bored, fidgety child who only learns that reading is boring and something they want to avoid. The parent thinks they are helping the child but they are actually damaging the child's ability to read in the future.

A parent with poor comprehension may read poorly to a child and cause the child to become confused. This in turn teaches the child that reading is confusing and hard to understand even for adults.
Parents must learn how to read properly to their children and how to model good reading habits.

Parents must

*Model good reading habits
*Show a child that reading can be enjoyable
*Demonstrate how to extract meaning from the words beyond the literal meaning
*Stimulate a child's imagination using associations with written words
*Make reading enjoyable

By showing your child that reading can be fun and interactive, you can open a new world to their child. Comprehension skills can improve your child's school performance, increase their chances of attending college, and make their adult lives much more fulfilling by opening paths to better careers and to pleasure reading.