A Message from
Dr. Robin Young
Principal

         Teach Your Children

                    RESPONSIBILITY

     For Their

                                             Behavior & Learning

                                                                    - Robin Young

 

There is so much to do that it is often times difficult to decide what to focus our attention on and how to make a difference. 

As parents of young children, additional responsibilities compound the tasks of daily life.  Perhaps the question to ask is, “How do we make the most of our time with our children to make them responsible for their behaviors and learning?”

Responsibility makes us care about doing our best and then doing it!  That internal soundless voice that guides responsible behavior is a seed planted by parents, nurtured, and hopefully germinated.  The cycle is similar to a terrarium’s.  Parents plant seeds in the fertile soil of their children, water it with positive reinforcement and love, in the hopes that they will grow up to be happy, self-sustaining beings.  So, let’s talk about seed planting, the core of parenting.

What is a responsible person/student?  Someone who is: self-disciplined, self-directed, makes good choices about what to do and when to do it, is conscientious and resourceful…and doesn’t quit easily.

                        HELP YOUR CHILD BE RESPONSIBLE

  Responsible Students Set Goals for Themselves

1.      At the beginning of the week, help your child identify one goal. 

2.      Have your child write the goal on a piece of paper and post it on the refrigerator.

3.      Talk about how to accomplish the goal.  Help your child break down the goal into smaller steps.

4.      As the week progresses, ask how things are going. If problems arise, brainstorm possible solutions.

5.      At the end of the week, help your child evaluate how well s/he did.  Was the goal achieved? Why or why not?

Most important, praise your child for trying.  Then set a new goal for next week.

  Responsible Students Learn to Plan Their Time

            “I don’t have enough time,” is one of our most popular excuses to put things off.  We all have the same amount of time so it’s up to us to learn how to use our time wisely.

  1. Use a time log.  For one week, have your child write down what s/he is doing throughout his/her time at home.
  2. Help your child set a daily, or weekly, schedule so things aren’t put off until the last minute.
  3. Keeping a daily schedule can become one of the most helpful habits a child can have.  The experts say if a child keeps a schedule for just 21 days, it will likely become a habit for many years.

  Responsible and Successful Students Read At Least As Much as They Watch TV.

1.      Track TV time.  You may help your child to realize that s/he can afford to spend a lot less time watching TV and more time reading.

2.      Be a reading role model.  Make sure your child sees you reading and hears you talking about books

3.      Challenge your child – for a week - to read at least as much as s/he watches TV.

4.      Help your to child find interesting books.  Identify your child’s interests and then help to find books and magazines on those topics, and you’ll have an avid reader!

 

Responsible Students Use a Problem-Solving Process

It’s natural for parents to want to solve their child’s problems.  But that won’t help your child learn the discipline of responsible decision making.

            Here are five useful steps you can teach your child to take when facing a problem:

  1. Decide what the problem is.  Summarize it in just a few words.
  2. Generate several possible solutions.   Ask, “What might be done to solve this problem?” Older children can write their ideas down.
  3. Evaluate the solutions.  List the positive and negative effects of each possible solution.
  4. Decide on a solution.  Consider the pros and cons of each solution, and decide which one is best.
  5. Develop a plan to make the solution work!  Few problems have just one possible solution.

Help your child consider what should be done first, second and third.  The problem won’t be solved until your child puts the plan into action.

 

Responsible Students Listen Well and Follow Directions

  1. Take turns speaking.
  2. Focus on the speaker by looking at the person speaking.
  3. Summarize what the speaker just said.

 

Responsible Students Get Along Well With Others

Many of children’s school problems are social ones.  Often, children don’t take responsibility for getting along because they don’t know how.  Teach your child this three-step process for resolving personal conflicts.  When s/he gets angry at someone else, tell him/her to say:

  1. Why did you do that?
  2. When you did that, I felt….
  3. I would feel better if… (A critical step because it requires a child to think in advance about what will help resolve the situation.

Responsibility Means Accepting Consequences

Don’t let your child make excuses for behavior.  Talk about how choices sometimes have consequences.

            To be effective, a consequence should meet three criteria:

  1. Is it logically related to the misbehaviors.  Children need to see the connection.
  2. Is its enforcement respectful of your child?
  3. Is it reasonable to you and your child?

 

It takes a lot of effort to teacher a child to take responsibility for learning and behavior, but it will pay off.  As your child becomes a self-confident, independent learner, you will have met one of your most important responsibilities.  You will have taught your child the attitudes and skills she needs to grow into a responsible and capable adult.

                       

                                                                                                Robin Young

 

 

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