Friday, April 27, 2012

Education Ride 365: An Introduction To Alcohol Use Now Or Later When Never Is Unlikely

Raising children is a difficult task.  There is no script or playbook to follow.  Recently, when I came across the billboard below while crossing our country on Education Ride 365, I was reminded of one philosophical argument played out in a wealthy school district I worked for in Texas.

Some parents feel that it is wise for people under eighteen to be exposed to alcohol at home---in a controlled setting---before they go elsewhere (in an unsupervised setting) to experiment with it, either before graduating from high school and/or when they first experience living away from home with all the liberation and experimentation that often welcomes.  Tasting the 'forbidden fruit' early can remove some of the mystique and novelty, the thinking goes.

While opinions on the practice of allowing your own child to taste this 'forbidden fruit' at home will no doubt vary, one slippery slope outcome of the practice was an even more serious point of contention in the district I worked for.  Specifically, some adults were providing alcohol to other children in the community...without the consent of their parents.  Does anyone really believe this is acceptable?  Imagine how angry you would be if another parent provided alcohol to your child for use at a party.  Or if your child was served alcohol at the home of a friend (so they wouldn't go elsewhere to use it) and later operated a motor vehicle.  The consequences could be grave for themselves and others.

However widespread the practice was in the district where I worked, the debate on the local blog was lively indeed.  The billboard above indicates that other communities grapple with this issue too. 

Alcohol use by those under 21--> now or later when never is unlikely?

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Keywords: Education Ride 365, EdClick, Cycle Of Education, Alcohol Use, Parenting

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Discipline: I Told Him To Stick Up For Himself. That Is All He Was Doing!

Posted at 10:51 PM (permalink) 0 Comments View/Leave Comment
Keywords: Discipline, Fighting, Parenting, Violence, Play Fighting

Friday, January 21, 2011

Discipline: Tips From American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

• Trust your child to do the right thing within the limits of your child's age and stage of development.

• Make sure what you ask for is reasonable.

• Speak to your child as you would want to be spoken to if someone were reprimanding you. Don't resort to name-calling, yelling, or disrespect.

• Be clear about what you mean. Be firm and specific.

• Model positive behavior. "Do as I say, not as I do" seldom works.

• Allow for negotiation and flexibility, which can help build your child's social skills.

• Let your child experience the consequences of his behavior.

• Whenever possible, consequences should be delivered immediately, should relate to the rule broken, and be short enough in duration that you can move on again to emphasize the positives.

• Consequences should be fair and appropriate to the situation and the child's age.

Posted at 11:46 AM (permalink) 0 Comments View/Leave Comment
Keywords: Discipline, Parenting

Monday, December 13, 2010

In The News: New Education Poll

An Associated Press-Stanford University Poll on education found that 68 percent of adults believe parents deserve heavy blame for what's wrong with the U.S. education system — more than teachers, school administrators, the government or teachers unions.

Only 35 percent of those surveyed agreed that teachers deserve a great deal or a lot of the blame."

"...Most said education in their local public schools is excellent or good, but 67 percent also believe the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to education."

"...But a majority of parents see improvement in the system since they were in school..."

"Without programs to educate parents, everyone is working in some stage of ignorance..." 

As an administrator, I really wanted to get parents involved.  A few years ago, when I became principal of an intermediate school, we set aside a classroom to use as a parent volunteer room.  I had big plans for that program, but regretfully it didn't get as much traction as I had anticipated.

Clearly, parent participation at the schoolhouse is relatively strong in elementary school, but quickly tails off as young people enter perhaps the most vulnerable period of their lives, the teen years.  Too often at the secondary level we are missing an opportunity to have parents involved in the daily working of our campus. 

Parents bring subject area expertise and/or general academic knowledge that can be valuable for tutoring and other instruction.  Other parents have especially big hearts and emotional intelligence for working with young people, as mentors for instance.  In fact, anyone can provide a stabilizing adult presence, or a helping hand with a special project.  There is a role for most anyone in a healthy community school.

As an assistant principal at one of the wealthiest high schools in Texas, Highland Park High School, I always thought that one of the coolest of their many cool traditions is that parents serve all of the food during school lunches!  Go figure!  One of the wealthiest districts in the State has parents dishing out the food!  PTA parents are connecting with daily student campus life at HPHS in this manner.  It is just great!

In so many ways, parents can and should be more involved in our secondary schools than they are.  What are the impediments?  What can we as educators do to better utilize parental involvement at all levels?  Are we doing enough at our campuses?  In our districts?

Looking at the question from another angle entirely: can we better educate young people by better educating parenting adults?  Do public schools have a role or responsibility to nurture fundamental parenting skills and knowledge?  Over the years, more than one person has noted to me the irony that we spend so much time in our schools teaching so much that isn't nearly as applicable to life as parenting (and money skills).  When do young adults learn about these two central life skills?  At home?  As Dr. Tennant asked in an earlier post, "Do We Trust Ourselves?"  (or, our neighbors!)

Posted at 5:24 PM (permalink) 0 Comments View/Leave Comment
Keywords: In The News, Education Poll, NPR, Parenting, Parent Volunteers, Volunteers