Rick is one of my teaching mentors.
Parents as Teachers in the Academic Achievement Race.
Parents as Teachers in the Academic Achievement Race.
In the current zeitgeist, the pressure many parents feel to teach their children seems to be causing some to be both bad teachers and bad parents. Anxious that their children may fall short academically one parent actually defended her daily academic work with her four-year-old with these words: “These days if your child isn’t reading by kindergarten, he won’t succeed in school.”
Naturally a parent might be anxious in this climate, but motivation from fear usually produces bad results. Love, not fear, is the main ingredient in building self-confidence, and love looks like believing in your child as she engages in ever more complex challenges. Internal motivation is critical to her can-do attitude.
