Wednesday, September 5, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C3 Get involved in your child' s education The return of September means thousands of Canadian stu dents will be heading back to the classroom. Consequently, it is also time for parents to return to their role as supervisors of their child's education. A recent poll conducted by Environics Research Group shows that 62% of Canadian parents believe they are ultimately respon sible for the quality of their child's education, followed by teach ers at 27%, and governmental education agencies at 9%. Understanding and defining a parent's responsibility to a child's education can sometimes be challenging, according to Sylvan Learning Centre, which provides personalized educational ser vices at 75 Sylvan locations across Canada. "It's critical for parents to participate in the educational process, as it affects both a child's attitude and performance," says Dr. Richard Bavaria, vice-president of education, for Sylvan Learning Centre. "For many parents, it can be difficult to identify how large a role they need to play in their child's educational experience. It is often a challenge to recognize the difference between productive involvement and when involvement becomes interference." There are several ways parents can actively participate in {heir child's educational experience in a beneficial way, according to Dr. Bavaria. One example is proactive involvement, such as: Getting involved with your child's school. By participating in parent committees or advisory councils, parents can develop a better understanding of the school, get to know the teachers, prin cipal and counsellors, and have an influence on the policies that affect their child. Underslanding how your child learns. Children leam in different ways. Some are visually oriented, others are auditory and others leam by doing. Some work best solo and olhers ihrive in groups. Underslanding children's learning styles can explain why they find some school work easier than others. Fostering a love of learning. "A par ent's primary role is to encourage a love of learning that will stay with a child through out her school career and life," says Dr. Bavaria. "You can do that by inviting your child to share news of her day with you over dinner, by reading with her or making time for school-related activities." Talking regularly. Keeping an ongo ing line of communication open with your child is perhaps the most important role a parent can play in the learning experience. Be honest with your children and tell them you wanl ihem to feel comfortable coming to you for help. By starting these practices early, they will become accustomed to your desire for involvement and be more receptive to sharing. This can become more difficult as chil dren approach high-school age, so take a more casual approach. By having a mature, friendly conversation with your adolescent, il shows him you understand he is becoming an adult, that you respect him and that you're genuinely interesled in whal he's doing. Participating in parent-teacher nights. During the first meeting at the start of the school year, introduce yourself and ask the teacher about expectations for the year, such as how much homework a child should be averaging every night, when major projects will be due or what will be covered in ihe curriculum. Highlight any unique challenges your child experiences. At the second meeting -- usually follow ing report cards -- come prepared with questions or concerns. Also, most teachers are happy to book phone or in-person appointments with parents. It's a great chance for a more indepth discussion. Creating the homework zone. Children like and need a routine, as it cre ates a feeling of safety and security. Parents can encourage that need for routine by setting a time for homework and study, and providing a good environment for it. Some children work well in a quiet room .ilone, others need the stimulation of ambi ent activity, such as the kitchen. Some stu dents study more effectively with music in the background, although be warned that TV tends to be too distracting. Another way to positively affecl your child's learning process is more of a lifestyle choice, according to Dr. Bavaria. A child's educational experience can easily be influenced by a parent's behaviour loward learning." A parent can use modeling to encour age a child in several ways: At work. Taking your children to work for a day is a great way for them to experience how your education has affect ed your ability to do your job. You can show them how you set goals for yourself, and how you got where you are today. Show your child how a job can be fun. and how the types of things you learned in school are benefiting you now. 1 H endier va le E q u e s t r ia n C o m p l e x NOW ACCEPTING ADULT SAFE HOCKEY LEAGUE Uftimte Lme Are you or your rider ready to move up to a more committed arrangement in English riding? Do you feel that you have learned all that a school has to offer? Come to Hendervale! With our new lease program, we buy the horse, feed and take care of all it's requirements. All you have to do is pay a monthly fee and ride. If you are transfered or wish to stop there is no hassle. A great worry free way to enjoy the companionship of the same horse each time in a World Class environment. All ages welcome. MILTON Individual Player & Team Registration CAffLAN Bring a friend and we will put you on the same team. Sunday through Wednesday is available. (Thursday is SOLD OUT) n v rj i ti I n i 4I s CALL 905 845-6989 TO REGISTER BURLINGTON , v< - 1 hourteiutteto Log onto www .hendervale.com & see our World Class facility. Phone: (905)827-2234 Fax: (905) 8274333 OAKVILLE OVER 200 TEAMS LAST YEAR! Now accepting registration for teams & individuals AOULT SAFE HOCKEY LEAGUE Nights available Sun. to Thurs. Thursday s SOLD OUT Try & be part of our Ontario & National Championship Music Lessons in y o u r h o m e e a c h w e e k . W e ev en p ro v id e y o u w ith t h e in s tr u m e n t fo r F R E E . 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Post Run Live Entertainment - Slant 6ix COST: $15.00 PER RIDER $10:00 PER PASSENGER HIGHWAY 5/DUNDAS Tutoring: · All Subjects JK-O.A.C. 1 I I J 11 I I I CALL US T O D A Y LOCATION: START A N D FINISH AT Montana's Cookhouse Hyde Park Gate & Hwy 5 Oakville Ontario F o r In fo r m a t io n C a l l : I* . i it :;'! : yi / s. s 9 0 5 -4 0 3 -9 4 3 5 2351 Royol Windsor Drive, Unit 1, Missi'sougo 9 0 5 -8 4 7 -8 9 4 4 UPPER MIDDLE ROAD w w w .s t u d i o p a v a s .c o m s t u d i o p a v a s @ h o t m a il .c o m E-M a il : customerservice@oakville.ymca.ca Your career. Your choice. Your life. Industrial Electrician Industrial Mechanic Precision Machining and Toolinq MSCE l-Net Certification Network-i- Certification V I 1 . T h e Oa k v il l e B e a v e r O u r name is Mike a n d Scott Henry. M ike(12) and Scott(10) have been delivering 101 O akville Beaver papers in their neighborhood fo r one and a half years. They w o rk together to make sure that all o f their customers get their papers on time. M ike is starting G ra de 9 a t St. Thomas A quinas and Scott wHI be in G ra d e 6 French Immersion a t St. M argeurite D'Youville school. In ad d itio n to being strong students, both boys juggle very busy schedules involving rep hockey in the w inter and rep baseball in the summer. The Centre's pre-apprenticeship and certification programs provide short-term, comprehensive training that allows you to start a new career in less than a year. Construction Industry Motive Power Network Technician Web Designer A+ Certification Office Administration Mike & Scott Henry Their hobbies include com puter games, reading and sports. M ike w ill start hockey o fficia ting this fall. FREE INFO RM ATIO N SESSION Call to reserve your seat. Winning Carriers receive a large 3 topping pizza courtesy of: 905-333-3499/878-1240 www.thecentre.on.ca The Centre Skills D evelopment & Training O n t a y u f 's # 1 P iz z a ,/ IM A To join our delivery team call 905-845-9742 "How Video Game Addicts become Computer Programmers" SCHOOL SUCCESS After School Tutorials G rades 9-12 Individual High School C redits Full Tim e High School with 12 students p e r class C om prehensive Learning Assessments Y our child is 9 to 17 years old, good at math, loves video games & might even fancy himself as a future game developer! It's precisely these traits that make a strong candidate for our Game Programming classes in the Visual Basic, Java or C++ languages. Our classes are a fun Way of helping young people prepare for University courses. Imagine learning Programming at a young age while adults are only learning application software. Some of our parents see their students math grades go up. This is because Video Game Programming gives you pictures of the coordinate geometry problems you are solving. OUR CLASSES ARE SMALL, consisting of a maximum of four CAREFULLY SCREENED STUDENTS. We offer evening, Saturday or Sunday weekly classes in the computer labs of Branksome Hall or St. Mildred' s-Lightboum. We have several school season courses, from Pacman to Half-Life Mods or Direct X. This summer we taught 332 students including students from Alberta, Nova Scoria & the U.S., testifying to our uniqueness. To schedule a FREE NO OBLIGATION TRIAL CLASS, call REAL PROGRAMMING 4 KIDS, at (416) 466-9599 Oakville` Toronto` W innipeg realprogramming.com Chisholm Centre 1484 Cornwall Road, Oakville Tel: 905.844.3240 www.chisholmcentre.com