When young children display abnormal behavior, it is safe to say that professional consultation is required. One can use the Clancy Behavior Scale or the ADHD test to screen their children for early detection.

Sometimes, however, it could just be a false alarm. I found a couple of cases in the past. I talked to a couple of parents who told me that their two children, ages seven and nine, had learning disabilities and needed professional consultants. After teaching them math for a few years, I was able to better understand the situation. They showed great progress, maintaining above average grades and having a regular interactive response with others. I even have a normal relationship between children and their parents. I concluded that immigrant children with learning disabilities are very easily confused by the school due to language and cultural barriers in the classroom. These children simply need more love and attention.

Family life is also crucial: constant quarrels at home between parents can cause emotional instability in children. This, in turn, can stop your learning progress. Parents have an obligation to provide a loving and disciplined home environment so that their children are ready to learn. When children are ready to learn but do not learn well, the drop is most likely due to the quality of teaching by teachers.

I was moved by a college professor when he apologized to students who failed his class. 40% of the students in the class had previously failed a midterm exam. He apologized to them and said that his explanations and teaching skills were not good enough. Children are like blank sheets of paper awaiting quality input and encouragement from teachers. I often tell parents, in front of their children, that if the grades in school do not improve, it is our fault. The only condition is that they cooperate fully with us.

Across Canada, one in ten students attends a private school, but in Quebec the ratio jumps to 2.9:10, which is almost triple the average. This large difference shows that parents actually trust private school teachers much more than public school teachers. I have shown appreciation and recognition to many good teachers when some students showed us some quality classes and assignments. Unfortunately, there are always teachers who can’t answer or are unable to answer more difficult questions. They either tell students they will get back to them at a later date and then forget completely or tell them they should be able to answer the questions since they are so easy, thus disguising their inability.

Every child needs and deserves to be enlightened by their parents, teachers, a good date, a movie or a book. The very famous inventor Thomas Edison is a very good example. At school, young Edison’s mind often wandered and his teacher, Reverend Engle, was heard calling him “confused.” This ended Edison’s three months of official education. Edison later recalled, “My mother was my creation.” Anyone who has the key to igniting his motivation has already taken their first step toward success.

There are also tools provided by the Environmental Test System to assess learning motivation or the Personal Curriculum System to diagnose student needs through student analysis from massive computer information.