Today I came across an interesting blog post from Chris Kennedy who is the Superintendent of the West Vancouver School District. In his "Culture of Yes" feature, he included some recent thoughts from a meeting he was at with their District Parent Advisory Council. In this meeting, their Trustee liaison, Cindy Dekker, made a presentation called "An Insider's Guide to Parenting" that Chris included in his post.
The main points were:
On School Work:
- let your kids fail, and let them do it at a young age so they learn what they need to do to improve
- sometimes, when they forget their lunch, they need to solve the problem on their own
- help facilitate studying, but don’t do their homework for them
- don’t close any doors — encourage your kids to take a range of courses
- don’t be so worried about the “right” school, all schools are great
On Phones and Communicating:
- I bought a phone for my daughter, so it was mine, and if I called them they had to pick up — it was the rule
- the home is command central
- when your kids go to a party, call the parents and talk to them about the event and the supervision
- you meet some great parents when you connect with them over the parties they are hosting for kids
- always get the information you need from your kids before they leave the house
On Finances:
- financial literacy does not only need to be taught at school, but in the home as well
- giving allowance is great — it teaches kids about responsibility and about purchasing errors, buyers remorse and the value of charity giving
- encourage your kids to get a job and understand the value of money before they are on their own
As I reflected on her thoughts, it made sense that several of these were worth passing on.
Hope you had a good weekend!
Interim reports will be sent home on Wednesday for all classes. If you don't receive one, please contact us at 442-8285 or at gfss@sd51.bc.ca
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