|
Featured Sections Headlines Opinion Obituaries Sports Crime Blotter Happenings Country Cooking Wandering Minds Classifieds Birthdays Off The Wall On The Record Church Listings Archives Featured Columns Pastor Howle Wise Tech Tips Editor's Column Carl Langley Dr. Skip Myers Edgefield Square Registered Sex Offenders for Edgefield County Contact us Contact Info or E-mail the Editor Phone: 803-634-0964 day 803-279-5041 eve 803-279-8943 fax Mail to EdgefieldDaily.com PO Box 972 Edgefield SC 29824 Video & Audio Updates Audio Archive Video Archive School System EC District Office School Board Strom Thurmond Charter Schools Fox Creek Private Schools Wardlaw Academy Public Offices Edgefield County Edgefield Johnston Trenton Political State and Federal Legislative Contacts Local Political Parties Republican Party Democrat Party Chamber of Commerce Edgefield County Chamber Historical Edgefield Genealogical Society News links The Citizen News Aiken Standard North Augusta Star The State Augusta Chronicle Atlanta Journal United Press Associated Press FOX News Reuters CNS News WorldNet Daily Newsmax Drudge Report GoogleNews Yahoo!News New York Times New York Post Los Angeles Times Washington Times Washington Post |
  Education
Lesson Plans: Motivation, Part 4 By Ben Dawson web posted April 1, 2010 EDUCATION – Over the past several weeks we have examined how we, as parents, can possibly motivate a child having trouble in school. We have looked at how we must sacrificially give of ourselves to enhance the mental and emotional well-being of the child, but this is only possible if they are healthy and physically fit. Yes, parents have to work hard to fortify their sons and daughters physically, as well as mentally and emotionally, in order for them to be at the top of their game. It takes a lot of effort for a tired, working mother or father to cook an evening meal - after all, we drive past Sonic, Burger King, and McDonalds on the way home. Sit-down-at-home meals, complete with fruits and vegetables, may be a chore to prepare, but they are also very important in this junk food world. I had an exceptionally athletic student in my class a few years ago who began to suffer from bad stomach aches; the doctors determined the cause to be “too many fast foods” - her digestive system could not handle it. With pains in her stomach, school work naturally took a back seat. So many people must not believe in breakfast any more; when it comes to their kids, they are fooling themselves if they think their child arrives at school to learn without it! Too many parents send their children to school (too late to be served breakfast in the cafeteria) with nothing in their stomachs. By mid-morning, it is a common occurrence for several students to approach and ask if I have a pack of crackers. By 10:00 o’clock, they realize they are simply too hungry to concentrate. Breakfast, complete with a proper portion of protein, does wonders to sustain a young mind. And come on folks, it only takes about sixty seconds to scramble an egg. If your child won’t eat a scrambled egg, search sites, such as: http://www.parentsconnect.com/parenting/easy-breakfasts.html for quick and easy breakfast ideas. I am sympathetic as to how hard it is in the mornings to dress yourself for work and your children for school as well as fix breakfast. Taking ten minutes to plan the night before can cut down on a lot of the stress that occurs in the predawn hours. Lay out your own clothes as well as those for younger students. Have your older children do the same. (Any parent that has ever spent twenty minutes in the morning searching for a shoe can attest.) Now, go into the kitchen and prearrange what you will prepare for breakfast. This can truly help you achieve the status of “super parent” the next morning. Keep a few breakfast bars around to serve with a glass of milk in the event your alarm does not go off. Just don’t send your darlings to school hungry! With breakfast being served at school, there is just little excuse for a child to come with a growling stomach that renders them unable to focus. Be careful that you do not substitute doughnuts and drive-through cinnamon minis for breakfast. The obesity rate in children is alarming. We can’t blame it all on our school systems because they are truly fighting to combat this problem. South Carolina is one of 17 states that requires their school lunches, breakfasts, and snacks to meet higher nutritional standards than the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires. Our state has also strengthened and lengthened the amount of physical activity required for students; but children must have parents to get on the bandwagon. “South Carolinians just continue to pack on the pounds.” The Trust for America's Health web site shows that, “The state’s adult obesity rate is now fifth (tied with Tennessee) in the United States, up from eighth place last year.” What kind of example are we setting? (The full report with complete state rankings in all categories is available on TFAH's Web site: http://www.healthyamericans.org.) Family meals also offer an important time of bonding for parents and children. Our greatest laughs and most serious conversations have occurred around our dinner table. Life changing lessons have been taught as we’ve discussed the issues that our children face day in and day out. I honestly think parents who turn off their phones and sit down to eat with their family are able to ward off many problems before they ever occur in the lives of their children. Statistics prove that children who engage in sit-down meals with their families are less likely to become addicted to drugs and alcohol, less likely to be a teen pregnancy statistic, or to participate in gangs and violence. As teachers, we can certainly tell a difference in students that have a strong “family oriented” support system and those that do not. Getting children the proper amount of rest also means parents have to make sacrifices. Televisions have to go off, outings have to end early, and the appropriate measures have to be made for children, ages 6-9 to get the ten hours of sleep they need, and ages 10-12 to get at least nine hours. Most parents don’t realize that teenagers need even more sleep than a ten year old. According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, the average teenager needs around 9.5 hours of sleep per night, possibly because hormones that are critical to growth and sexual maturation are released mostly during slumber. Yet studies show that teenagers generally get an average of only 7.4 hours a night. This is far short of the desired quota for healthy teens. Physical exercise is another essential for developing young bodies, but this also means parents need to get involved. It is not enough to tell a child to go ride their bike while you spend the afternoon inside. Ride your bike with her, take him fishing, everyone go jogging or play ball in the afternoons. Expect your children to help with household chores so every member of the family gets to go outside. They can learn great responsibilities from doing little jobs that carry over into their schoolwork. Do not be critical if s/he does not excel in sports or does not do a task the way you would- instead, encourage and participate. Offer them challenges in which they can achieve and feel successful. Above all else, remember your offspring are a gift from GOD - an awesome responsibility that should be lifted up in prayer daily. Respect the wonderful attributes your children have been given, and remember, before you can turn around your precious opportunity to raise them will be over! They will soon be parents themselves, hopefully passing on many of the parenting skills they have learned from you. © Copyright 2010
EdgefieldDaily.com All
original material is property of
EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
|
Advertise Contact Us   PAID FOR BY THE CANDIDATE    Parting Shots A book by Columnist Carl Langley ------- NOTICE:
We still need recipes for Cooking Section WEBNEWS – Send in your favorite or favorites. There is no limit to the number of recipes you can send in. With the Editor’s wife being the driving force behind her own personal section, help her create an exchange of local favorites, home cooking, grilling, sauces, and deserts! Send in your submissions here. |
