Slow and Steady Wins the Race – 10 Strategies to Success!

When school starts every year, we find our families returning to routines, and our schedules filling up quickly. This hustle and bustle often gets in the way of our ability, as parents, to help our children meet their academic goals. We either don’t have enough time to come up with a good plan, or we’re unsure of exactly where to start.

10 Strategies to Success

The following are strategies that have proven successful in helping students reach (and exceed) their goals, regardless of the child’s circumstances!

1. Failure to plan is planning to fail
   Have an engaging discussion with your child about their priorities. List everything that is important for this year, prioritize and focus on the top 3 or 5. Expect that it may be challenging to narrow your focus to a few things. Define goals for each list entry and consider what your child must do to achieve them. Next, estimate how much time is needed for these activities on a weekly or daily basis. Compare this with your child’s schedule and identify the gaps. For example, if a student really wants to improve their math grade from a C to a B+, then spending 1 hour a week on math homework is likely not going to cut it. Making the right choices involves sacrifice! Everyone works differently and it is important to develop a strategy that works for your child. The most important thing to do is to plan ahead and strategize your child’s work load.
2. Build in flexibility
   Plans are more likely to be achieved if we build in some cushion and not be overly rigid, provided we have the discipline to not drift too far.
3. Begin with the end in mind
   If you find it difficult to motivate your child to strive for academic success, try having a discussion about what they are good at and what their goals and dreams are. Help them research and see how doing well in school or in certain subjects is critical to opening doors that will make their dreams a reality.
4. Create the right environment
   Does your child have a consistent and reasonably quiet environment to focus on their work? Is there adequate lighting? Are there distracting conversations right beside them? Are there guests over when they are busy studying for exams? The consistency of a parent’s message and actions has a very important impact on their child. As parents, it is important to respect our children’s hard work by creating an environment that works positively towards their efforts.
5. Decide on the support needed
   Does your child need additional support in the form of resources or supplementary help such as tutoring? Review the time and budget devoted to education to see if they make sense, given the priority we assign to education. Consider this: spending in education is an investment, not an expense.
6. Discipline matters
   Having a plan is one thing, but what determines success is often our ability to stay the course. Many attractive activities will come our way weekly, daily or even hourly. We need to make the right choice, think ahead and prioritize.
7. Consistency is key
   Our brain is a muscle which works best through regular exercise. Set up a routine and try to follow it. Everything becomes easier once it becomes a habit. Learning is a marathon, not a sprint. Slow and steady wins the race!
8. Quality over quantity
   Although success is usually dependent on the amount of effort we put in, keep in mind that the quality of learning matters, not just the quantity. We often hear students express that they are distracted or simply too tired, and this is because they have too much going on in their life.
9. Build accountability
   It is crucial to establish accountability for your child’s tasks, work and activities. A third-party individual—like a teacher or a tutor—is ideal in keeping your child accountable and ensuring that they meet their deadlines, keep promises, and reach their goals.
10. Perseverance
    In a TED Talk, Angela Lee Duckworth said she “quickly realized that the thing which sets her best and worst performing students apart is not just IQ.” What truly makes a defining difference is also something called “grit,” which measures the student’s passion and perseverance in the face of challenges. Grit is motivation and stamina.

Great Local Tutors to Consider

Many things about a student’s education are beyond the control of the parent nonetheless the above ideas are actionable and well within the parent’s control or influence. If you feel you need a little more help then look outward for a tutor. Here are some fantastic Tutors to consider.

Aspire Learning Academy
2428 Haywood Ave. West Vancouver, B.C. V7V 1Y1
604/281-0507
aspirelearningacademy.com
Aspire Learning Academy offers individualized, private & group tutoring programs that accommodate students of all learning levels, in all subjects from JK to high school. We measure the quality of the learning experience provided by our teachers against that of top-performing international schools.

Book Smart Tutors
604/227-2882
booksmarttutors.ca/vancouver
Book Smart Tutors Inc. provides affordable one-on-one tutoring service in the comfort of your home and online across the Greater Vancouver Area. Our tutors follow the provincial school curriculum and we offer customized tutoring programs for all subjects from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Tutors for College and university subjects are also available. Packages start at $160/month with no contract or registration fees.

Edify Learning Spaces
edifylearningspaces.com
Edify Learning Spaces is a 1-on-1 Online Tutoring Agency. We find the best tutor to customize lessons to your child’s learning style. We strongly believe that each child can find the best outcomes if they find a tutor who knows how to teach them. We make lessons fun so they learn 8X faster and make sure they know we care. We connect before we correct! Tutors available for children who are neurodivergent.

Sylvan Learning
SylvanLearning.ca
Choosing Sylvan is about getting results and setting your child up for long-term success. At Sylvan, we’re focused on building academic confidence, igniting intellectual curiosity and inspiring a love for learning — all of which make a big impact in school and in life.
Math, Advanced Math, Reading, Writing, Homework Help, Study Skills, Academic Camps, STEM.
In-Centre & Live, Online!