5 Productive Ways for Parents to Help with School Work

Recent studies show that Australian parents spend less time helping their kids with homework than the global average.

But is this necessarily a bad thing?

The average Australian parents are dedicating 4.4 hours a week to homework help…

Which is a figure that shouldn’t be scoffed at.

But it does pale in comparison to the commitment hours of other countries…

With the average hours hovering around the 6.7 a week mark.

Federal Minister for Education Simon Birmingham has appealed to parents to do more to address Australian students performance in maths, literacy and science assessments.

But is helping with homework really the key?

Read more…

7 Take-Home Lessons from The World’s Best Schools

In Part 1 of this post, we looked at the ways that schools in Finland operate that make them some of the best in the world.

Some of these reasons include shorter contact hours, less homework, less tests, more independence and a stronger emphasis on non-academic skills.

Incorporating many of these factors into Australian schools would require Government intervention…

And/ or massive changes in the core functions of each school.

But there ARE lessons that can be learnt from Finland’s school success…

Read more…

What We Can Learn From The World’s Best Schools

Finland: a small Nordic country with a population of just over 5.5 million.

And home to the world’s leading schooling system.

Around the world, Finland is acknowledged as an ‘educational superpower’.

Their schools are top ranked among developed nations on the PISA scale…

An international, standardised assessment that measures 15-year-olds in language, maths and science.

Yet the lack of focus on standardised tests is one of the reasons that the Finnish school system is so successful.

In this post, we’ll look at what Finland schools do so successfully…

And how it differs from what we’re used to in Australian schools.

Read more…

New Year Resolutions for Parents — Part 2: Supporting Educational Needs and Fostering Success

In Part 1 of this post, we offered parents 8 simple, practical and effective tips for supporting your child’s mental health this year (and into the future).

In Part 2, we’ll be sharing 8 equally simple tactics to help your child not only survive this school year…

But also to thrive in the educational setting, and use the things they learn to achieve success in all their future endeavours.

You’ll find some of our recommendations double up over both posts…

But that’s because many of these actions have a multitude of benefits.

And because — as research increasingly shows — mental health and academic performance are inextricably linked.

Read more…

New Year Resolutions for Parents — Part 1: Supporting Childhood Mental Wellness

New Year’s Resolutions tend not to last very long…

But maybe that’s because you’re not doing them right.

This year, why not resolve to put practical, productive and achievable plans into action…

To promote mental wellbeing for your children (and yourself).

The combination of each of these small acts will help you to help your children have a prosperous year.

And happy and healthy children make for happy and healthy parents!

Read more…

5 Ways to Keep Kids Learning During the School Holidays

The holidays are a time for rest, relaxation, family time and celebrations.

But learning doesn’t have to stop when the school gates close…

You can help foster a love of learning in your children over the holidays.

And they won’t even know it!

Below are some great school holiday activities that get kids engaged, curious and excited about learning…

Which will help them to embrace their education once their back at school, and the value of learning for the rest of their lives.

Read more…

5 Ways to Set ‘High Expectations’ Without ‘High Pressure’

Australian students are excelling when their teachers hold them to high expectations.

But in equal numbers, kids around the country are suffering from poorer mental health…

And it’s being largely attributed to mounting pressures at school.

But what’s the difference between high expectations and high pressure?

Read more…

How and Why Kids Need to Learn Resilience

Put simply, resilience is the ability to respond positively to adversity.

But how is this ability developed?

Are some people simply born with it or can we teach it to children? (And if so, how?)

We’ll address all of these questions in a moment.

But first let’s quickly recap what’s been discovered about resilience so far…

The first person to extensively research resilience was the developmental psychologist, Norman Garmezy.

In his research Garmezy noticed particular children who succeeded in the face of adversity.

These children experienced severe disadvantage or even neglect yet somehow still managed to flourish at school and in later life.

You see, prior to this research, psychologists tended to only look at the negative impact of stressful or traumatic experiences.

And while it is clearly important to help children deal with stressful events after they occur…

If resilience is able to “insulate” children against the negative effects of stress before they experience such challenges?

Helping children become more resilient at an early age may very well be the best long term strategy.

So why do kids need to learn resilience? 

Read more…

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