The Bigger Picture

From the desk of Carol C…

When you look into your children’s future what do you see?  Successful individuals?

What does that mean?

Chances are, you are not just thinking about your child’s past educational record.  More than likely you’re also imagining them as self fulfilled individuals with positive relationships with others. You are seeing them as citizens who are contributing to making the world a better place.  Now the question becomes how do we prepare children to become these independent, emotionally healthy, and content adults.  The answer lies in education…both by the school and you the parents.

Children of all ages need:

• A realistic dose of confidence.  They need to see that we all have strengths and weaknesses.  They need to be aware of their own gifts and areas of difficulty.  It’s a good idea to share your own strengths and areas for improvement with your children.
• Help to find their passions.  Talk to your children or students about what they like to do in their spare time or what subjects they enjoy most at school.  Build activities around these areas.  Being passionate about something leads to hard work in that area.  The good news is this work ethic begins to spread to other areas as well.
• To become an advocate for themselves.  If students are to become fulfilled adults they need to learn to ask for what they need early in life.  They need to know how to approach a teacher, police officer, an adult, and another peer to ask for what they need and do it with respect, kindness, and honesty.
• To be able to pick themselves back up and continue forward after a failure.  This is easier said than done for everybody, but it is an essential skill to have if we are to succeed in school and in life.  Reassuring children that failure is a part of everyone’s life can provide comfort in what is a difficult time.
• A belief in working harder makes us smarter.  The more we learn the more we change our brains.  These changes strengthen the paths that connect ideas and experiences.  Point out when hard work has paid off.  Tell your children about times your hard work paid off.  These could be examples from school or from home.

When we think about our children’s future, we must remember it is essential to support their learning and help them to strengthen their inner resources.  It we do this we will have prepared them, as best we can, for their place in the world and success in life.