19 February 2007

The under rated value of attitude

I think education is meant to be a service to all young people in our country. Unfortunately, our forefathers did not list in the Bill of Rights that every student has the right to an equal education. Nonetheless, giving a basic education to all youngsters seems a pragmatic approach to insuring that as these folks grow older they will care for themselves and those around them; in other words be good global citizens.

I read an article today at NPR, that really hits this nail on the head. It’s a study pointing out that when you make children aware their intelligence will grow if they tend it – they do tend it. For me, understanding that means recognizing the ground floor in the institute of education. Yet, leaving it just to teachers to sort out the how’s/why’s of having students understand this study becomes a daunting task. Parents need to take it on too. The trick is, can we instill in young students this power of their own perception without blaming, shaming or guilting ‘em into it?

We need to work on this as a collective whole. Instead of forcing young students into verbal corners about why they should do homework, we need to take time to have them understand they are building their intelligence ... day by day ... every time they make an effort and when they sweat the tough stuff. This will take time and patience; two ingredients every household seems to be lacking today in our rush to stay afloat. Without this type of ground floor installed, students will have a tendency to continue negating what school is really about: building life skills for the future.

Read the study here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7406521

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