“I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent.”
–Ashleigh Brilliant
This school year can be the best one ever for you and your children—and it may have little to do with getting straight As.
Let’s face it—as parents, we want our kids to succeed in every possible way. And yet, in our hearts we know that’s unrealistic. Our society puts a tremendous amount of pressure on students to excel at everything in school: writing, math, science, problem solving, social skills, athletics, and more. And yet as adults, none of us can do everything equally well. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to specialize much until we became adults.
Not being able to do everything well doesn’t work as an excuse for failure. There has to be a balance when you’re figuring out someone’s strengths and weaknesses. No one gets to indulge in only doing what they want to do, so it’s important to help our children learn how to deal with situations and circumstances that are difficult or uncomfortable.
So as I enter the blogosphere, I propose we start with the topic of helping our kids succeed in school—but with a less traditional approach. For 25 years I’ve had a favorite phrase I pound into everyone who will listen to me:
What’s The Point?
You’ll often see that theme recurring in this blog. You’ll find out how much I love the idea of What’s the Point Education. We’ll talk about ways to hold on to bottom-line accountability and high academic standards while still focusing on learning strengths and methods that actually work.
We’ll look at practical and immediately useful ways to identify strengths and figure out ways to overcome even the most daunting challenges. Best of all, we’ll focus on the positive aspects of our children and delight in designing strategies that bring out the best in them.
We’ll take it in bite-sized pieces, and we’ll share resources—books, web sites, articles, and other media. I’ll be encouraging you to work on one issue at a time, and to look for ways to help your children become confident learners who take charge of their own success.
Thanks for stopping by—I look forward to spending time with you!