College Prep for Children in Grades K-8
So much attention is placed on what preparatory steps should be taken for college for kids that are in high school, but not enough is ever mentioned for kids in elementary school and middle school. Sure, the college talk does tend to start in middle school, but no proactive steps are taken toward fulfilling your goals at that grade level.
In order for students to truly be prepared for college, the preparation needs to begin all the way down in the primary grades. Now, this doesn’t mean that third graders should start thinking about what they want to major in, but it does mean that kids should be guided by teachers and parents to understand the importance of college and to accept it as a real goal that they can fulfill.
Some ways to prepare for college in elementary and middle school include:
Adding College to the Discussion
In the classroom, teachers have to cover the curriculum. That’s a given. But there should still be time and ways to throw college talk into the mix. It may be something as simple as talking about what the teacher majored in in college or what sorts of things you can study while in college. However, the importance lies with the fact that college is mentioned and talked about as a real option—not just a far away thing kids see on TV.
Exposing Kids to College Opportunities
This is a part of talking about college with kids, but to be more specific, discussing the opportunities college can open up for a person is really important for preparing kids for college. Why, you may ask? Quite simply, college is the gateway to opportunity in life and the sooner kids understand this fact, the more willing they will be to do the hard work to achieve their goals.
College opportunities can be relayed to children of all ages by means of simply talking about them or showing them exactly what going to college can do for one’s life. For instance, a teacher could talk about how the people that get to dig up dinosaur bones went to college. Or that astronauts went to college. By showing kids all of the really cool stuff you can do with a college degree, you’ll get some very enthusiastic kids on your hands.
Take Advantage of Campus Visits
Probably one of the best ways you can prepare young children for college is to physically take them to the local college campus. There are many campus tours and visiting days wherein a staff member will guide a classroom or group of children throughout the campus and talk about all of the unique and interesting things they can do there when they grow up. As a parent, you can also schedule an outing with your child where you show them the college campus you went to. You can talk about all of the things you did there, the activities you participated in and the classes you took. Of course, it is always a good idea to tailor the talk to the age of your child. Talking about the complex experiments you did in chemistry class is probably not the best way to go about enticing an eight-year old into the college life.
Regardless of the tactics you use as a teacher or a parent, instilling the necessity of college in children from a young age can work wonders in increasing their motivation and providing direction in their lives. Rather than starting the college talk when students are in high school and not as open to suggestion, starting it younger helps to shape children and to encourage them to walk down the collegiate path.