Hear me out...
For the months of June and July, I'll share a little something with you that I've picked up on this 20-year journey everyday. Now, this is a huge commitment, especially while still working this summer, so give me some grace. I hope you'll check out the blog posts below.
Blog Posts
Well, I poured my heart out in these. I hope you'll enjoy, engage, and encourage others to check it out.
They're Home, Now What?
Parents are watching as teachers celebrate sending students home for the summer. In August, parents will celebrate sending students back to school while teachers criticize parents for the condition they return in. So, what can we do about it? How do we work together to prevent the "Summer Slide" that causes students to return back to school having retained almost nothing they learned throughout the school year. Here are my thoughts...
We're not free;
we're recharging!
School is out. Teachers finally get to decompress from the pressures of the profession that we've been called to. For most of us, it's not just a job - it's a calling. It's one of self-sacrifice, ridiculously low pay, unreasonable expectations, and extreme pressure. We wish people understood that we aren't free for summer. We aren't bored. We aren't finally available to you. We are just like your phone and watch and wireless headphones and laptops - we're recharging. Here's what we need from the people in our lives to help us get to 100%.
Mom, we are not the same!
Parents are often overheard saying, "My kids are like night and day." But what changes have their differences required of you as a parent. How far are you willing to go to accommodate those changes? I'll share what the last couple of years have looked like for us and what may make accommodating your kiddos' differences a little easier.
Is testing really necessary?
So much of our children's options are tied up in the outcome of a test. What special programs they get into... What elementary and secondary schools they attend... What college or university they attend... Whether they get scholarship money to help pay for college... whether they get into medical school, dental school, PT school, grad school, ... Then, as they grow into adulthood, their career options will likely be tied to some assessment: doctors, attorneys, teachers, investment bankers, etc. It really make me wonder whether testing is as important as we've made it. Should there be an assessment tied to everything? Are there options we haven't considered? What can we do as parents to ensure that our children have options?
