Teach Students Work Ethic

In today's Elmore Thoughts, https://growingleaders.com/blog/seven-ideas-teach-students-work-ethic/ Dr. Elmore looks at students and the benefits of Work Ethic.  The end result we want is for the students to think you can achieve almost anything if you work hard enough. This reminds me of an old saying at the University of Michigan, What the Mind can Conceive and Believe, the Body can Achieve, and those who Stay will be Champions.

In a recent survey, 23% of parents ask their kids to do chores.  Dr. Elmore list four reasons why parents fail to expect chores from kids, but they all deal with that we feel we're not good parents if we stress them out with chores.

Then, there is a study from the University of Mississippi that state, "chores instilled in children the importance of contributing to their families and gave them a sense of empathy as adults.  Those who had done chores as young children were more likely to be well-adjusted to have better relationships with friends and family and to be more successful in their careers."  The study further states, "asking children to help with household chores starting at age 3 or 4 was instrumental in predicting the children's success in their mid-20s."

HOW PARENTS and TEACHERS can TEACH HEALTHY WORK ETHIC (Beyond Chores)

Dr. Elmore lists 7 items, four of them are: 1) Choose appropriate tasks, 2) Model a work ethic, 3) Offer payment, and 4) Talk about the benefits.   Follow the link above to read for explanations of these four items and the rest of the items that will help your child create some work ethic.

Balancing our impulses and our analysis is tough

This week Elmore Thursday Thoughts is about two extremes we must help students avoid.
http://growingleaders.com/blog/two-extremes-must-help-students-avoid/

Dr. Elmore starts off the article with a lot of scientific information about the "amygdala."  Which is summarized as good decisions are hard for adolescents because they don't have all the tools they need to make wise choices.

Dr. Elmore then talks about two case studies, Trevor and Carly (not their real names).  Trevor doesn't think too long before he makes a decision.  His past has assured him that if he makes a bad choice, his parents (or some adult) will swoop in and save him.  Carly on the other hand overthinks.  She weighs out every option, even paralyzed from choosing at all.  She likes to keep her options open because she is afraid to make a poor decision or to fail.  When she does make a decision, she doesn't enjoy it.  

What Can we Do?

For the Impulsive Student - We must Raise the stakes.

For the Analytical Student - We must lower the stakes.

Continue to read Dr. Elmore's blog to see how we can do that.