4 Ways to Prepare for Report Card Day

Report card day or a parent-teacher conference (if your child is too young to get a report card) may fill some parents with dread and anxiety. What if the teacher says negative things about your child? What if you find out that your child isn’t performing the way you expect him to? And the list goes on.

According to faculty member of the Ateneo de Manila Education Department and former school administrator Rita Atienza, and Brent International School Baguio kindergarten and middle school teacher Riya Morales, there are ways to prepare yourself for this day.   

1.    Work with your child.
“In my experience, the most successful students are those who get consistent support from home,” says Morales. “Being around your child while doing schoolwork gives you a pretty good idea of your child's work habits and his or her learning style. This allows you to make realistic expectations of what your child could achieve.”

Atienza also suggests regularly talking to your child about how he feels about school, his subjects, teachers, and his performance. “However, do not pressure the child or else he will not be honest with you about this,” she warns.


2.    Set goals together.
Both Atienza and Morales stress the importance of doing this even before school begins.

“Help the child make goals that are high enough to be realistic and attainable but not so high that the child experiences child stress,” suggests Atienza. “Respect those goals and be happy if the child reaches them.”
“This gives them a sense of accountability for their performance,” adds Morales. “Knowing that there are expectations of them, but being secure that they will get help if they need it, gives them internal motivation.”

Click here to read more ways to help prepare you and your child for report card day.

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Read on for more ways to help prepare you and your child for report card day.

3.    Talk to the teacher.
If you have noticed that your child has been having problems with a certain subject, talk to the teacher early on to find out how your child can improve. “If the parents have been communicating with the teacher about any difficulties their child is having, they do not need to worry about dreading report card day,” says Atienza.

However, she warns not to do this for all the teachers, especially if your child is not struggling in all subjects. This will only irritate the teachers and backfire on your child.


4.    Look outside schoolwork too.
“Show interest in their other strengths outside of the classroom,” says Morales. “This makes them feel valued despite the pressure of academics.” At the same time, your child will learn the value of having a balanced life.  

If report card day is tomorrow, however, and you have no idea how your child is doing in school, try to keep your expectations realistic. Remember that it isn’t fair of you to expect so much if you’re coming in cold.

After receiving your child’s assessment for the year, make time to discuss your child’s performance with him. Ask him about how he thought the year went and how he felt about it. This is the best time to make plans for the next school year so that both of you can start fresh, motivated, and excited about the challenges to come.  


Photography by Jun Pinzon