Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do.
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I have two challenges for you. I wonder – seriously – how many of you will take me up on them. The dividends could be huge.
As school has started over the past two weeks across America, I’ve seen more first-day-of-school pictures on Facebook than I can count. More will be posted next week as more schools open on Tuesday.
Children have been celebrated and recognized on the first day of school. That’s great. I’m all for it. Yet, I have to ask, what about the rest of the year?
I hope children are encouraged regularly and celebrated often. No one should assume that causing a child to feel important on one day will last many others. They need regular, ongoing doses of our special attention in order to invest themselves in school. For many kids, school is challenging so one celebration won’t last long.
There’s another thing that happens during these first-day-of-school-pictures. Children learn or relearn their parents value school, learning, and an education. School is being celebrated in the pictures, too. I’m all for it. Yet, I have to ask, what about the rest of the year?
What will parents do REGULARLY to demonstrate they value education, in general, and their children’s education specifically? What will YOU do?
Helping children know how they are smart is significantly important. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have written a book about it and I wouldn’t blog weekly about it.
- But, honestly, children who know how they are smart, but don’t value an education, have no need to be smart.
- And, children who don’t value themselves have no need to be smart.
I dare you – read those bulleted sentence again, slowly. Let the truths sink in.
Value education and make sure your children know it – often!
Value your children and make sure they know it – often!
Those are my challenges. How will you do it?
