
Today my son and I went to an Engineering Preview Day at Michigan State University. During the welcome presentation, one of the admissions directors told the prospective candidates that at the end of the day when they make their decisions about education, colleges, careers, life, etc., they should ask themselves.... "Did I do my best?" and "Did I make a difference?" As I was sitting and listening to his presentation, I kept thinking about the unique role we play as parents and educators, in the lives of our kids/students. What are we doing to help them "do their best" and to "make a difference?'
How do we as parents teach these important skills? The most successful way to teach social skills and habits of minds to children is through "modeling." From the time they are very young infants until they grow up and become adults, kids look to us and learn from the skills and behaviors we are modeling. And...multiple models work even better! So if parents are modeling a skill, as are their teachers and other adults in their lives, the greater the likelihood our children will learn the skill.
The "Taking Care" initiative I launched several years ago at our school and #TakingCareThurs really are all about "doing our best" and "making a difference." At our school, we talk to students nonstop about the importance of "taking care of ourselves," "taking care of others," and "taking care of our school/world." This language is ubiquitous in our school culture. Not only do teachers talk to students about these habits of mind, but they also read aloud children's literature with themes of the same. Multiple models help kids learn the skills. Models can also include characters in children's literature.
If your school hasn't committed to #TakingCareThurs yet, I highly encourage you to do so. I guarantee you will see if a difference is teachers across your building commit to having these discussions weekly, alongside reading children's literature on these same themes.
Now ....go "do your best" and "make a difference" in the world today! :)
To learn more about #TakingCareThurs, click here.
To learn more about how it all began, click here.
To read about weekly featured books, click here.
How do we as parents teach these important skills? The most successful way to teach social skills and habits of minds to children is through "modeling." From the time they are very young infants until they grow up and become adults, kids look to us and learn from the skills and behaviors we are modeling. And...multiple models work even better! So if parents are modeling a skill, as are their teachers and other adults in their lives, the greater the likelihood our children will learn the skill.
The "Taking Care" initiative I launched several years ago at our school and #TakingCareThurs really are all about "doing our best" and "making a difference." At our school, we talk to students nonstop about the importance of "taking care of ourselves," "taking care of others," and "taking care of our school/world." This language is ubiquitous in our school culture. Not only do teachers talk to students about these habits of mind, but they also read aloud children's literature with themes of the same. Multiple models help kids learn the skills. Models can also include characters in children's literature.
If your school hasn't committed to #TakingCareThurs yet, I highly encourage you to do so. I guarantee you will see if a difference is teachers across your building commit to having these discussions weekly, alongside reading children's literature on these same themes.
Now ....go "do your best" and "make a difference" in the world today! :)
To learn more about #TakingCareThurs, click here.
To learn more about how it all began, click here.
To read about weekly featured books, click here.