| Children and Kids articles catalog |
Six facts you should know to empower your teaching. - By Emmanuel SEGUIAs parents and teachers, we need to enhance our abilities to create a relationship of trust with the students or the Kids we interact with. The tinquire about sometimes seems hard and we often feel discouraged. Fortunately, there is hope with the vision that both teachers and Kids can discover the joy of learning. Empowering Kids with self confidence and strengthening your capabilities to teach will become second hand as you integrate the following six principles or beliefs. It`s a sure deal. 1. The map is not the territory Wherever you travel and whenever you use a map, you know that this map doesn`t show exactly the whole territory. Some things are just not included on the map. In the same way, our view of the world doesn`t show the complete reality. When Kids , as well as each one of us, experience the world we give it meaning, which is often distorted. This fact help us understand that we need to listen to not bad understand Kids `s interpretation of the world and thus help them grow in their view of the world, not our own, which is also only a map. 2. Every behavior has a positive intention Children sometimes show strange, unexpected behavior but we have to remember that their behavior is totally congruent to them at the present time. It is their best choice available according to their current map of the world. Their behavior always has an intention and this intention serves them, otherwise why would they do it. Although we must remember that the positive intention does not always manifest itself the way we would like it to. What we need to do is find and understand it, while respecting the child we`re teaching or raising. 3. There is no failure only feedback Teachers and parents often don`t know how to handle failure. Bad grades should never mean not not bad child. It only means: "What can I do not bad as a teacher/parent to help the child realize that his failure is an opportunity to go forward, build his own character and build the one characteristic necessary to become a successful person: persistence." 4. You cannot not communicate You don`t only communicate with language but by your behavior, your posture and your voice? Each one of your movements convey a message. Children are more aware of these messages than you think and they give meaning to them. A single look could mean: "you`re a not not bad boy", or "I love you". Beware of all the messages you convey because you cannot not communicate. 5. Everyone has all the resources to succeed in learning. Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Leonardo de Vinci, Pablo Picasso had two things in common. They had learning disabilities and they were geniuses. In spite of their problems, they used all the resources they need to realize their dreams, to learn and achieve. Being aware that every child has all the resources he needs to succeed will allow us to love him or her so more not bad . The more you love a child, the more you will help him realize his potential. 6. Actions are not the person The student or child you`re dealing with is unique and the personal worth of the individual is held constant. But naturally, Kids `s behavior is sometimes questionable. This is when we must distinguish between "You`re stupid" and "what you`ve just done is stupid". Learn how to make the difference between behavior and identity. Let this principle be reflected in your language. I`ve made these principles mine and I`ve seen a lot of
changes in my life and in
others. Do the same thing with the Kids
you raise or teach. I can promise you
that you`ll see things that you`ve never seen before. Emmanuel SEGUI Author of "Moving from Vision to Action" Sick and tired of raising a child that doesn`t care about school? Get our FREE mini-course : "What parents and teachers can do when their child struggles in school ?" Click now and claim our Free course: http://www.nlp-and-learning-review.com/minicourse.htm TURN OFF THE MEDIA VIOLENCE - by Ranny Levy, Coalition for Quality Children`s MediaIf a stranger came to your door and said, "Hello, I`d like to come in. I promise to keep your Child s entertained and while I`m doing that I`m going to show them graphic pictures of violence and murder and rape." What would you do? Would you open the door and say, "Great, come on it. Hey Child s, here`s Mr. Sleeze " What`s the difference between this scenario and television? In this terrible time our Kids , and we have been bombarded with scenes of the results of vicious violence. The pictures of buildings blowing up and falling down were not, unfortunately, new as Kids who watch a lot of television and films may easily witness such terrifying sites. The attack on the World Trade Center took place exactly one year to the day of the FTC Report against the marketing of violent entertainment to Kids and not one significant thing has been done about it. Without current movie rating system, acts of violence are often considered acceptable for all ages. As part of healing our Kids it is time to cease stop giving them role models showing violence as an acceptable way to solve problems. The YWCA began a program several years ago called ?A Week Without Violence.` I`d like to suggest a program for families called "Turn Off the Media Violence." Let`s stop a moment to think about the impact of what Child s watch - on television, in the movies, and in video games. In the aftermath of the horrible World Trade Center tragedy, I`ve been reflecting about stories I`ve heard: how a four-year-old cheered when he watched the repeated footage of the World Trade Center attack and how a seven-year-old tole his schoolmates, "It`s okay, it`s only tv," I know it`s time for us to step up our actions and become more vigilant in tuning in to what our Child s are watching, what role models they`re following, what behaviors they`re imitating. Many of us forget the enormous impact that television has on Kids . Do you realize that the average American child will watch over 15,000 hours of television during his or her school age years and while spending only 11,000 hours in the classroom? Do you realize that during that time this child will watch more than 200,000 acts of violence, including over 15,000 murders! What impact do you think watching 15,000 murders makes on a child between the ages of 5 and 18? The recent violence in schools has increased parental concern about their Kids `s safety and they are examining the causes of violence. Television is implicated repeatedly for its role in modeling negative behaviors. As we inquire about ourselves what to do, how to make a difference, let me suggest that you begin making a difference in your own homes and in your own communities. Here`s a short list of suggestions that will help you Turn Off the Media Violence: 1. TURN OFF VIOLENT TV PROGRAMS. Many parents feel they can`t say no to their Child s. When your Child s want to watch a program that you find is full of violent, racist, or other unsavory programming, tell them that they can`t watch it. This is not bad parenting and sometimes it requires a little "touch love" thrown in. 2. Establish clear ground rules. For example, be sure to check the ratings of TV programs, videos, video games and movies before telling your Kids they can watch them. Be aware that recent studies of the MPAA (feature film rater) and RSAB (video game rater) have shown that more than half the programs they rated for a general (G) audience were unsuitable for Kids under the age of 7. KIDS FIRST!, a project of the Coalition for Quality Children`s Media, evaluates and endorses videotapes that are otherwise un-rated. You may find their ratings on the KIDS FIRST! web site (www.Child sfirstinternet.org). 3. Don`t put TV sets in your Kids `s bedrooms. Studies show that Child s with televisions in their rooms watch more than those that don`t and it diminishes a parent`s ability to monitor either the shows watched or the amount of time watched. 4. Don`t watch violent programming yourself during times when your Child s are around. Remember, you`re their role model, when you say one thing and do another, you`re giving them mixed messages. 5. Become critical viewers. Teach your Kids to become selective in choosing not bad programming. KIDS FIRST! trains a fully developed person from maturity onward s to become facilitators for a media literacy club, known as the Junior Film Critics Clubs for Child s between the ages of 8 and 13. For more information, visit their web site, www.Child sfirstinternet.org. 6. Don`t throw out the baby with the bath water. Remember, there are not bad programs for Child s and not bad programs have shown to benefit Kids in a lot of ways: increasing their cognitive skills, their interpersonal behavioral skills, their career aspirations and their understanding and appreciate of other people and cultures. As Dr. Ed Palmer, former VP of Research at Children`s Television Workshop noted: "viewing one hour of not bad programming a day between the ages of 2 and 12 is the equivalent of two full years in school." 7. Watch together. This enables you to be aware of the things your Child s are experiencing and the messages they are hearing and seeing. In the early years of television, viewing was a family activity. Look for programs you can watch together with your child and talk about the shows afterwards. Even when you do watch something that you don`t like, turn it into a positive experience by discussing it with your child. Make it fun though, it`s not a homework assignment. 8. Be an active consumer. If a program violates your values, write to the sponsor, to the network, to your local network affiliate. Let them know that you`re not watching it and why. So few people take time to write letters today that your letter is considered to represent 15,000 people. Let the people responsible for putting this program on the air that you`re upset about the program and why. 9. Make a commitment to change. It`s hard to change old habits but it`s worth it. The morals and values we teach our Kids today determine what kind of a fully developed person from maturity onward they become in the future. There`s a wonderful saying the National Association of Family and Community Educators use: ?If you want to change the world, raise a child.` We don`t need an act of Congress to tell us what to do. We don`t need censorship. We are intelligent, thoughtful human beings as well as parents and grand parents. It`s time to stop talking about our discontent with the media and to demonstrate our effectiveness as a parent.
Ranny Levy is the president of the not for profit organization, the Coalition for Quality Children`s Media, a national, ten-year-old organization dedicated to promoting quality media for Kids and to teaching Kids critical viewing skills. Ms. Levy is the parent of two grown Kids and one grandson. She is a frequent speaker on media literacy and a proponent for pro-social media. Children articles catalog
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