June 2019: Another School Year Comes To A Close
All of a sudden, it's June and another school year is done! Here at Bigelow, we're busy wrapping up the year- 8th graders have returned from the New York trip and are practicing for graduation, 7th graders have gone on their end of the year field trip and are looking towards next year, 6th graders are feeling accomplished and ready for 7th grade (and the rafting trip!). Whatever our plans for the summer, we are all ready for a change.
With transition, however, comes emotion. Even if your child says they hate school and can't wait for it be over, there is a part of them (perhaps quite small) that will miss the routine and structure of school and the school year. Be gentle with them (and with yourselves!) at this time. We can all be slightly more sensitive when we're moving from one phase to the next. For more on how to do this, see last June's post: Changes....
A few interesting ideas and readings to leave you with as we close out the year: one about framing anxiety, one about the role of education in our society, and one about how early experiences may impact how we view our children.
When we talk about anxiety with kids, the words we use matter. We often field a number of "What if" questions when we're talking with kids. "What if I fail?" "What if everyone laughs at me?" "What if I'm the only one who...?" This blog post from parenting author Michelle Mitchell suggests that we should be re-framing this to "Even if..." This small shift means that we are focusing on resilience and strength rather than what could go wrong. "Even if you fail, you will still learn something." "Even if everyone laughs at you, you will have friends who won't." "Even if you're the only one, you'll have been true to yourself."
For decades, I have thought that better education, better funding for schools, better metrics for education would all lead to less inequity and a better country for everyone overall. This article from The Atlantic made me pause and reconsider these ideas. It's an interesting debate and one which is becoming ever more important in today's world.
Finally, we have all heard of helicopter or snowplow parents but what circumstances create that kind of parenting? This article from The New Yorker, offers insight based on the birthing experience and how the medical community communicates that experience to parents. A reminder, again, that how we talk about our experiences has an impact on how we view those experiences and ourselves in the future.
Whatever your summer plans, we wish you a healthy, happy, relaxing few months. See you back here in the fall!
--Dr. J
With transition, however, comes emotion. Even if your child says they hate school and can't wait for it be over, there is a part of them (perhaps quite small) that will miss the routine and structure of school and the school year. Be gentle with them (and with yourselves!) at this time. We can all be slightly more sensitive when we're moving from one phase to the next. For more on how to do this, see last June's post: Changes....
A few interesting ideas and readings to leave you with as we close out the year: one about framing anxiety, one about the role of education in our society, and one about how early experiences may impact how we view our children.
When we talk about anxiety with kids, the words we use matter. We often field a number of "What if" questions when we're talking with kids. "What if I fail?" "What if everyone laughs at me?" "What if I'm the only one who...?" This blog post from parenting author Michelle Mitchell suggests that we should be re-framing this to "Even if..." This small shift means that we are focusing on resilience and strength rather than what could go wrong. "Even if you fail, you will still learn something." "Even if everyone laughs at you, you will have friends who won't." "Even if you're the only one, you'll have been true to yourself."
For decades, I have thought that better education, better funding for schools, better metrics for education would all lead to less inequity and a better country for everyone overall. This article from The Atlantic made me pause and reconsider these ideas. It's an interesting debate and one which is becoming ever more important in today's world.
Finally, we have all heard of helicopter or snowplow parents but what circumstances create that kind of parenting? This article from The New Yorker, offers insight based on the birthing experience and how the medical community communicates that experience to parents. A reminder, again, that how we talk about our experiences has an impact on how we view those experiences and ourselves in the future.
Whatever your summer plans, we wish you a healthy, happy, relaxing few months. See you back here in the fall!
--Dr. J
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