Parent Page

Growth Mindset !

Please take a look at this video. I read Dr. Carol Dweck’s book Growth Mindset: The New Psychology of Success last year after hearing her speak on National Public Radio. It turns out that research shows that students are happier and perform better when they know how the brain works and have a growth mindset. I am using these principles in class and hope that you will support these ideas at home. ALL people have the potential to do their best…. the question is … Are we doing our best to be our best?

The Important Messages We Send

As I have mentioned before, I have found that the book No- Why kids-of All Ages-Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It by David Walsh, PhD is a helpful tool. Walsh’s advice has helped me as a teacher and a parent. We all want our children to have a “… happy and productive life”, as Walsh says in the following paragraph from his book.

This is something I am working on in the classroom. If you are doing it at home, then your child is on his/her way to achieving that goal of a happy and productive life.

No: A Small but Important Word

No is just one syllable. It’s easy to spell. It’s shorter than Yes. Still, it’s a word that many children and teens don’t understand or pretend not to understand. Yet, No is even more important for children and teens than Yes. No builds a foundation for self- discipline, self- respect and respect for others, integrity, perseverance, and a host of other character traits that lead to a happy, productive life. In spite of its importance, however, more and more parents have a hard time saying it. Time and time again, sometimes inconsequential moments and sometimes at crucial crossroads, we aren’t able to say no even when we know we should. That’s too bad, because given the latest research and a mounting pile of newspaper headlines, today’s youngsters need a heaping helping of No.

- David Walsh, PhD

No- Why kids-of All Ages-Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It

McKean advice -It might help you to share with your child why you are saying No. You are saying it because they need to work on learning self-discipline, self-respect, and respect for others… After you have told him this explanation at least time 10 times, you should ask them why you are saying no to him. He should be able to tell you why. That is when you will know he is starting to learn it. You in a sense are his little voice in his head telling him what are the right and wrong choices he has to make. Also, if he knows you are saying no to be helpful to him, he might not keep pushing.

Let me know how it’s going at home in the comments of this page. I will post them and we all can see how it’s working.

Thanks,

Ms. McKean

* I will use the pronoun him/her in my posts because you are only dealing with 1 child as opposed to 22 children. The pronoun I choose my not match your child.

8/29/09

I will try to add something new to this page each week. The information I will put on this page will usually be information regarding learning and growing. I have read some good books and research that I will share. One such book is No- Why Kids of All Ages Need to Hear it and Ways to Parents Can Say it by David Walsh, PhD.

In this book Walsh describes ways parents can help their children to become self- reliant and self disciplined. This excerpt from the book  is at the root of why I run my classroom the way I do. You and I need to help your child control his/her behavior. Being self disciplined is key to being successful in the work place and certainly helps in personal relationships.

Skillful parenting means saying No when we ought to. Part of loving, caring for, and guiding our kids is helping them harness their powerful urges, wants, wants and desires. Otherwise their out-of-control emotions can overrun and control them rather than the other way around. Kids need coping skills and the perspective they can only learn from the well-placed No. That’s true for the honor roll student as it is for the troubled teen. David Walsh, PhD