A writer’s world is often an imaginary land, filled with extraordinary characters and endless possibilities. Even in the ugliest of circumstances, there is always hope for a happy ending, or at the very least, some sanity.
Surprisingly, the creativity that students pour into the art of writing can significantly impact their well-being. The very real effects of writing travel a far distance from the fictional worlds of plots and heroes; daily writing can make long-lasting, positive impressions on the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the people holding the pens.
Today, most school curriculums validate the importance of writing and incorporate the process into as many aspects of the curriculum as possible. In English classes across the country, students learn grammar, paragraph structure, and the proper support of a well-developed thesis statement. However, without undermining the value of formulaic writing, it is important to ask if students are hearing the other voice of writing: the voice that isn’t afraid to speak a student’s individuality, emotions, opinions, and truths.
Communication with children at any age is vital to building their self-confidence and necessary for strengthening family relationships. Parents often feel teens won’t talk to them, and teens complain that parents never listen. The key to remember for effective communication is that it is a two-way street, and that parents play an active role in fostering a safe, open pathway for dialoging with their kids.
Communication should be open-ended, inviting responses that are more than one word answers. For example, “Tell me about how the party went,” will encourage more of a response than “Did you have fun at the party?”
For struggling students, few things can be as daunting as report cards coming home. But report cards can even cause anxiety for well performing students depending on how they are received at home, and the expectations parents set about school performance. No matter how high you set the bar for your son or daughter, the dialogue we have with our children surrounding their report card should be constructive, regardless of the performance. Here are some grade appropriate tips by Doug Tynan, Chief Preventative Health Psychologist at Nemours Health & Prevention Services, and former director of programs for children with behavior and learning problems at the AI DuPont Hospital for Children and the Children’s National Medical Center.
Did you know that within your home exists a hidden gift, which will guarantee your child’s vocabulary and language development? Did you know that this same gift could unleash your child’s critical thinking and conversational skills? As if that weren’t enough, this gift will also strengthen the bond between you and your child. If I told you this treasure would cost you nothing, require little preparation, and would last forever, would you take it?
