Parents and teachers can help to strengthen the extraordinary and unique potential of each child adapting their intervention to the characteristics of the individual
It often happens that behind school difficulties they hide learning disorders or other causes not linked to the negligence or list of the child: in these cases it is important to be aware that The final results depend on the collaboration between the various contexts in which the baby lives. Making the child satisfied and satisfied with himself, aware of his own strengths and weaknesses, determined to face life with enthusiasm, curiosity and desire to learn will be the objectives to be achieved through the encouragement and recognition of the commitment by parents and teachers.
The skills of the child
Often the child is the first to perceive his own school and learning difficulties With an emotional unease that may have negative repercussions both on his self -esteem and on the formation of his personality. In front of one hundred people who tell him that he was good, a child with poor self -esteem will believe in the only person who told him that he could do more.
To help him be aware of his own imperfections, it is important recognize and enhance his skills. Let’s see how.
Support and understanding
To support the child, we can:
- establish a dialogue based onActive listening and on theempathy;
- promote the child awareness of one’s cognitive characteristics (his way of learning), observing both the strengths and weaknesses together;
- provide him with situations in which he can experiment with their skills and limitsnot only in the school field but in every sector of life;
- encourage the development ofpersonal autonomy;
- make him acquire the awareness that the vote does not represent a judgment on the person But an evaluation on a specific teaching activity, so that it can improve the perception of one’s competence (attitude that will affect positively in every area of his life).
Even the environment in which the child grows must help him face reality without misunderstanding the difficulties he encounters: he must feel understood and helped in every context, and this happens when people who take care of him share common objectives and strategies.
Precisely because each child is unique, unrepeatable and special in his subjectivity, There is no right “recipe” It is universal for everyone. Each help strategy must therefore be adapted to the individual characteristics of the single child and not vice versa.
School successes and failures
Each of us motivates their successes and failures differently (In psychology we speak of “attributive style”). There are several “styles”, let’s see them in summary:
- “negative style“: The success is due to the ability and the failure to external causes;
- “skilled style“: The success is due to the ability and the failure to the lack of ability;
- “pawn“: Both success and failure are due to external causes;
- “depressed style“: The success is mainly due to external causes and the failure to the lack of ability;
- “Strategic commitment style“: The success is attributed to the commitment and the failure to the lack of commitment.
Firsthand managers
For a correct development of the “Strategic commitment style“, Particularly functional to school learning, it is important that the child learn to recognize the own commitment as the main cause of his successes and failures. Already starting from the kindergarten, parents and teachers can habit him daily, after every task and activity, to be responsible firsthand what happens to him. All this through an attitude of empathy and dialogue that can help him reflect on the work done and develop the awareness that success depends largely on him. The younger children or with learning disorders or other difficulties may not capture this relationship between commitment, behavior and performance, and therefore we must teach them.
A tutor for homework
Often parents help children in homework daily, but in front of children with DSA (specific learning disorders) or school difficulties, it is advisable to delegate this activity to one person outside the family unit. This is to avoid particular relational dynamics between parent and child (judgments, expectations, loss of trust and esteem, etc.) that can negatively influence the perception that the child has of himself.
Entrust school work to one external person The family and competent environment will bring benefits both to the child and to mom and dad: the tutor will work together with the child with clear, precise and defined objectiveswithout the anxieties that afflict parents on the causes of the learning problem. In addition, the expert will pay attention to all aspects related to learning, enhancing the child for what he manages to carry out, supporting him positively and also giving value to his commitment and motivation.
