Teacher’s Corner

The prompts below can be used for writing about or discussing what’s good about making mistakes.

1. “You can do things as many times as you need to in order to learn.” What does this statement mean to you? Do you believe it? What would help you believe it more?

2. Think about something you did that did not turn out the way you wanted it to. Thinking back on it now, what do you think went wrong?  What would you do differently the next time you try it?

3. Describe a time you were struggling to do something, but you stuck with it and eventually were able to do it.  Pat yourself on the back for being determined and sticking with it until you were successful.

4. What advice would you give to a younger child who was having trouble doing something and was acting very frustrated? 

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

1. 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.
2. 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?

Why can this blog be a useful teaching tool?

• 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.