Write a mission statement, write your personal philosophy in 1 sentence, write something down. I’m not one for things like mission statements, I’ll tune out the exercise if I’m asked to do one at work, and no way would I write myself a personal growth mantra or any smarmy thing like that, but this is a case where I think it’s valid. The advocacy thing is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s valuable to keep a single message in your head throughout the stressful events and interactions required throughout your child’s schooling years.
I wrote mine about a year ago before meeting with the director of intervention services in our district. I had generally been working off these thoughts for several years, but I wish I’d written it down and been more systematic about following this in my early years of advocacy for my kids.
I wrote mine about a year ago before meeting with the director of intervention services in our district. I had generally been working off these thoughts for several years, but I wish I’d written it down and been more systematic about following this in my early years of advocacy for my kids.
My Family advocacy philosophy:
I wish for my kids to be met at their level and challenged socially, emotionally, and academically during the school day, making effective use of their time at school; Home is for following the child’s lead and interests.
See? It’s simple and short. And yet, it encapsulates much of my thinking about what my goals are in finding a good fit between my child and the school. It also helps to guide me in resisting the temptation to take over their education and teach them the next thing they’re ready to learn after school (more on that later). If my kid isn’t going to find her own way to that subject matter now, I’m not going to do it for her. That’s not to say I don’t work to enrich their educations. I do and in a significant way (more on that later). However, just because my kid has demonstrated that he has mastered 2nd grade math does not mean I’m going to go out and teach him 3rd grade math if he’s not asking to do it.
For the school side of our philosophy, I put social and emotional growth on the same level as academic growth. Note that I word this as met at their level, acknowledging that their level might not be the same as the rest of the class, but I don’t say if I think their level is above or below the class. I feel that including social and emotional growth is a really important point that I will explore in later blog posts. As some foreshadowing, my kids are pretty immature.
Go ahead. Take a stab at writing your priorities, and please share!
For the school side of our philosophy, I put social and emotional growth on the same level as academic growth. Note that I word this as met at their level, acknowledging that their level might not be the same as the rest of the class, but I don’t say if I think their level is above or below the class. I feel that including social and emotional growth is a really important point that I will explore in later blog posts. As some foreshadowing, my kids are pretty immature.
Go ahead. Take a stab at writing your priorities, and please share!