If you read my Thursday Mail letters faithfully (and perhaps have been doing so for a few years) you may recall the names of a few books which I have loved. One about which I was effusive a few years ago, is Mindset by Carol Dweck. I know that some of you have read it because it was originally suggested to me by a parent. You might even recall that we chose the book for faculty summer reading a few years ago. Well, what is happening in the world of education is that the ideas in great books such as these are being distilled and disseminated in journal articles and at conferences – educating educators and parents to the same ideas.
Why am I telling you this? I am doing so because, as a happy consequence of all this distillation and dissemination, much of this helpful information is now easily accessible for all of us who perhaps might not have time to read the books that are out there!
With this in mind, as we find articles and resources we love, we will be putting them on the Parent Portal. When you go to the Parent Portal, scroll down and you will see parent resources on the bottom right hand portion of the page.
We have just added three more opportune reads:
True Grit
by Jennifer L. W. Fink
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/true-grit-0
Handle with Care: A Conversation with Maya Angelou
by Amy M. Azzam
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept13/vol71/num01/Handle-with-Care@-A-Conversation-with-Maya-Angelou.aspx
Parenting Your Strong-Willed Child
by Dr. Laura Markham
http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/positive-discipline/Parenting-Strong-Willed-Child
We each will take something different away from these resources because we all have different starting points. I especially loved the first one! My big take-away: Praise Actions, Not Traits.
“Give praise for efforts, strategies, focus, and perseverance,” Ms. Fink says. “This kind of praise focuses kids on the processes they engaged in to be successful.” It also encourages the kinds of behavior that are correlated with true success.
Regardless of my ‘starting point,’ let me reiterate my big message for today: None of us was provided instruction booklets when God gifted us with our beautiful children. Yet, it is true that task of raising these children is probably the most important and sacred task we will be given in our entire lives. So, it behooves us to support each other with our communication, collaboration, and sharing of resources with open hearts and minds as we all continue to do our best raising these children – children whom we hope will become reflective of God’s Goodness and Grace in the legacy of their future lives and loves,
Maureen Glavin, rscj
