Should We Be Pushy Parents?

Should we be pushy parents? Or should we let the school decide how much our children should learn?

As a parent we all want our children to do well. Children learn at their own individual pace, some may excel in one area and others in another area.

Some children breeze through the first period in school, then struggle later on, other children may take a while to get to grips with school, then come on leaps and bounds. There is no right or wrong, every child is individual.

I have always thought that teachers are there to assess and identify each child’s stage of learning, to ensure they are sufficiently stimulated and continuing to progress, after all, how else are children going to learn? I have never been a pushy parent, it doesn’t sit comfortably with me.

Teachers are trained, I am not. I don’t know how well my children should be reading at their age or how many sums they should be able to do. However, I do know my child and I do know when my child is not being stimulated or is reading books that are far too easy.

For weeks now my son has been breezing through his reading books every night, without faltering on the words and with true understanding of the content. This suggests to me he needed to go up a level. In his own time he was reading books, far more difficult than the school were providing, yet every night he would come home with the same old books.

Last week I had a discussion with my friend whose daughter is in my sons class and she felt exactly the same about her daughter. That week, we both wrote in their homework diaries, “the reading books are too easy, please can they go up a level”.

Then a miracle happened…..they both did!! I asked my son if people listen to him read in school, he said no. No wonder they don’t know when to put them up a level.

Maybe I shouldn’t have left it so long before actually stating the books are too easy, but, I believe, it is not for me to decide if my son is ready for the next stage of learning.

I don’t like being a pushy parent, but it looks like I may have to be, especially as my son appears to have quite a thirst for learning. He has been asking me to set him some times table questions!

I would never have done extra maths in my spare time as a child! He clearly likes to be stimulated!

What do you think, is it up to the parents to push their children forward? Or should the school be continually assessing each child and teach accordingly?

Have you had similar situations?