Love x 2 – Teacher’s Corner | Picture Book Parenting

Warm, gentle encouragement and appreciation. This type of caring is not about their achievement. It is only about their humanness. All humans need this kind of care to live and thrive so your students deserve it with no performance strings attached.
Sturdy care that teaches skills and expects good behavior. School is a place where students learn they can do the things necessary to get along in the world. It is where they begin to feel they are becoming independent and that they are good thinkers. Sturdy care does not include doing for students what they can do for themselves or neglecting to teach them the skills needed to do things for themselves. Classroom chores are part of caring for and about students. They help students know what they are good at, demonstrate their skills and be acknowledged for them, and learn to be responsible.
A teacher’s challenge is not to overemphasize one type of caring to the point that the other is lacking. When both types are working in tandem, they are a powerful partnership. Each type by itself is weak and can undermine the growth and well-being of students.

What are three classroom chores that you think are reasonable for students at your age?
What would be an example of encouragement a teacher could offer students that would make them feel cared about?
What would be an example of encouragement that students your age could give each other that would help them feel appreciated at school?

Teachers, you can use this blog in classrooms. Here are two ideas about how.

For middle or high school parenting or child development courses:
- Use the blog for discussion topics
- Require students to research the topics and agree or disagree with what the blog is suggesting.
For all courses, especially English Language Arts:

Use the blog for writing prompts for paragraphs, theme papers, journal entries, class starters, etc. Have students read the blog and respond to:
Do you agree with what is being said about kids? Do kids really act, think or feel that way?
Do you agree with what is being said about parents, grandparents, teachers and child caregivers? Do or should they act, think or feel that way?
What would be your advice on this topic?
What was left out of this article?
If you were a parent, would you use any of this information? How?

Students that see connections between their coursework and their lives do better in school.
Most students will either be parents one day or have children in their lives that they care about, so the topical information can help them build their knowledge about children and parenting and develop a positive image of the type of parenting they want to do.
The new core literacy standards adopted by most states call for frequent writing in all courses.
Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can think critically. These prompts help students practice critical thinking.
Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can analyze what they read. These prompts help students practice analysis.

Picture Book Parenting