Do you know adults who lack perseverance? I do. And sometimes, I can count myself in that number. (For proof, just take a look at the partially finished cross-stitch projects in my closet.) So I decided to tackle this important character trait for a feature in The Mailbox magazine Preschool edition.
There’s research that says important character traits and social skills—perseverance, sharing, making friends, courage, and kindness—should be taught beyond early childhood. Check out this article on the topic. I can definitely see their point. But is there time in the school day to cram in more goals? And should these concepts be taught in the school or in the home—or both?
What do you think?
Many parents haven’t been trained in positive character traits. I think the school and the parents need to work together so that we are assured the child will get the proper training. I have always felt that if we teach kids character the rest falls into place. Anyone who learns to hang in there will learn to do that difficult math, reading, writing, science, ect.
In my school, we have to do everything in the way of teaching our children. Many of us call it a “mission”. In many homes, character traits and social skills aren’t taught. Much of our time is spent teaching these important life skills. The academics is no good without the other. What is not taught at home, we do our best to teach at school. Makes for a sometimes tough, stressful, exhausting day. But, as a veteran teacher, I do it because it is necessary, and it is “in me” to do it. It would be a disservice to the children to not do it.
In a nut shell yes. I spend a great deal of my time teaching social skills, that is everything you have mentioned in the background info before your question. These skills need to be practiced over and over again. Those skills are not mastered at the end of Pre-k but are the foundation for the next teacher/parents to build upon. Group projects, cluster seating, having peers assist one another and allowing some conversation in the form of a class discussions or doing group sharing were the teacher asks an open ended question and the kids have to share with their neighbor their answers, all lend to teaching social skills in an increasingly academic challenging environment.Like teaching based on common core, this is just a matter of changing how a teacher teaches. Should these skills be on a report card. But just because they are not weighted on a report card doesn’t mean they should not be taught.
It takes a village to raise a child and this should be taught by all of us. Teachers, parents, extended family and let’s not forget the community. Children who do not learn these skills will be trouble later in life.
Children are with their teacher for seven hours a day, so we must address all of their needs: academic, physical, social and emotional. They’re people, not learning robots.