Night School is NOT an Extension of Day School

I mentioned in my last post that in night school, students are working towards an entirely different degree.

I can’t emphasize this enough.

Many parents, when they have time with their child, spend it going over what the child is already learning in school. They spend time doing homework with their child, giving their child additional math problems, and going over spelling words countless times.
I am not saying this is wrong. Children need to see that you are involved in their education. And when you emphasize what they are learning in school, they certainly benefit.

But that is not all you should do with your child. In fact, I urge you to spend the majority of these precious moments teaching your child skills that they are NOT learning in school. They are already spending 8 hours or more a day learning the standards in school.

But who is teaching them how to take care of their body? Who is teaching them how to be a compassionate person? Who is teaching them how to handle stress? Earn and save money? Prioritize their time? Be creative? Solve problems in the world? Manage conflict with others? Follow their passions? Think critically? Lead? Change the world?

These aren’t skills that are easily measured by a test. So they are often not taught in day school.

If the night school teacher doesn’t teach these skills, who will?