You kiss your kid/tween/teen in the morning and let them go off to school, while you make your way to your day, and you sometimes dont hear from them till that valuable dinnertime hour where you can sit and discuss each others' day.  Fact is though, that most kids dont tell their parents alot of what went on at school that day.  They may give you the good stuff (ex. a good grade) or something, but how do you know what they've been up to all day???

To give you a little insight, parents, the single biggest thing on most kids' minds when they are at school is TO NOT LOOK STUPID.  They would rather die than to look stupid in front of their friends, peers, and teachers.
This is why so many kids like to sit in the back of the class (less chances of getting called on) and most would rather die than getting something wrong in class and oh my goodness....getting laughed at!!!! (Kill them now)

Teachers normally do a great job of getting kids to feel at ease and comfortable in class.  So how to help your kid avoid looking or feeling stupid?  PREPARATION!  The little time invested in this is well worth the effort, because:
Advantage#1 - There is nothing that boosts confidence more than a kid who has read up on and knows a little something on the topic before even walking into class.
Advantage #2 - More facility with the subject, therefore LESS time (or none at all) on homework....they can get it done in class!
Advantage #3 - Ask better & more insightful questions in class.

I dont know about you, but that seems worth it to me!