Helping Struggling Students to Succeed
It can be easy for a parent or a teacher to forget something very important when they are dealing with a child who is having a difficult time in school. What is often forgotten is the fact that the struggling student is a child first, and a student second. Just like any other person, the child who is having a difficult time in school might also be having other challenges in other areas of their life. In addition, just because a student has only recently starting having a difficult time in school, that does not mean that the root of the problem has only recently come about. Sometimes not having a solid grasp of vital basic facts can sneak up on students and cause them some very distressing problems as they move up through the grade levels.
Sometimes, as children move up through the lower grade levels, they are able to do enough to get by without their grades getting them into trouble. As they reach the more challenging levels of upper elementary and middle school though, not having a firm grasp of basic facts can start to cause them some serious difficulty. Math classes that assume that children know how to add, subtract, and multiply can start to cause major struggles for students. Secretly counting on their fingers no longer works to get them by when algebraic concepts start to pop up in class. Struggling readers start to stand out from those who are more fluent. It can be a difficult situation for children and the people who care about them.
Many teachers today are turning to methods of differentiated instruction in their classrooms so that they are able to help students working at lower levels before they fall too far behind. Parents of struggling students must also be willing to devote time at home to helping their children. This does not have to be anything too complicated. It could be something as simple as listening to their children read a book or sitting down and playing some math games together. There are many things we can do to help struggling students. Possibly the most important thing we can do is start recognizing them when they begin struggling and then be willing to devote the time necessary to get them back on track.