When a Compliment Is a Bad Thing If your sympathy becomes immediate fuel for more teacher-bashing, your child may learn to defensively reject all future suggestions for improvement. Viewed through doting-parent lenses, your kids are the most beautiful, talented specimens of humanity to ever grace their age group. And it’s fine to tell them so—with discretion. Unrestricted praise tends to have … [Read more...] about When a Compliment Is a Bad Thing
12 Secrets of Healthy Encouragement
12 Secrets of Healthy Encouragement Encouragement doesn’t always work as we might think. A sincere “You’re doing a great job” may elicit an angry reaction if the job doesn’t measure up to the worker’s personal standards. Even if those standards are unreasonable. Here are some better ways of encouraging children to live effective and ever-improving lives. 1. Emphasize the Value and … [Read more...] about 12 Secrets of Healthy Encouragement
SHADY OAK BEST PRACTICES: GOAL SETTING
SHADY OAK BEST PRACTICES: GOAL SETTING Every month we publish two articles on “Shady Oak Best Practices,” our favorite approaches to education and why they work. If friends ask why you send your kids to Shady Oak instead of a “regular” school, refer them to this series—and the science backing us up—for starters. Everyone knows that effective goal setting is a major key to success. … [Read more...] about SHADY OAK BEST PRACTICES: GOAL SETTING
SHADY OAK BEST PRACTICES: GROWTH MINDSET INSTRUCTIONS
SHADY OAK BEST PRACTICES: GROWTH MINDSET INSTRUCTIONS Every month we publish two articles on “Shady Oak Best Practices,” our favorite approaches to education and why they work. If friends ask why you send your kids to Shady Oak instead of a “regular” school, refer them to this series—and the science backing us up—for starters. What children (and adults) think of themselves plays a … [Read more...] about SHADY OAK BEST PRACTICES: GROWTH MINDSET INSTRUCTIONS
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A HELICOPTER PARENT
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A HELICOPTER PARENT “Helicopter parents” are those who hover over their children’s lives like traffic helicopters on patrol, always ready to defend, console, or otherwise “fix everything” according to their own ideas of what’s best for their kids. Typically, they accomplish little more than to get others avoiding them, or laughing at them behind their backs (just … [Read more...] about HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A HELICOPTER PARENT