School Has Changed
Whenever I hear this, I know that I am about to engage in a (sometimes much needed) venting session. I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking of examples of how school has changed- and how it hasn’t.
In our community, the one noticeable change we see is how a lot of our kids are coming to us in their first years of schooling. Many have delayed speech patterns in both articulation and language usage, inability to navigate age appropriate social situations, and hardships with coping. While many of our students attend pre-school, not all of the problems can be addressed in one or two years of school prior to kindergarten.
I think Miles and I got to some good points in a few episodes on how a school can help families make the most of the education that is being offered to their children. We often talk about communication- between school and community, but here it is also within the family. Families that talk among one another are marching in the right direction for doing right by kids.
Here are a few things that parents and schools can do to “get back to the way it was”:
- Speak with children as much as possible. Ask questions that go beyond the answer of “yes” and “no”.
- Explain the processes of things to children. Explain the “why” and ask a lot of questions like, “What do you think…”
- Teachers could make a friendly game out of family discussions. Make a bingo board that fills up when kids bring in conversation topics that were discussed. If your school has iPads, kids could bring back a little video of the conversation.
- Schools could send out reminder cards that give specific discussion topics for a family like, “How is the family’s favorite meal prepared?”
Doing creative things like this is easy and impactful. I remember doing a breakfast interview when I was in kindergarten. That little student/teacher interview could be used for any topic. Limit those devices and go old school with some genuine conversations!!
School is Out! 