Such a Thing as Personal Responsibility

"What Ida does says, nothing about my character,

What Gary does, says nothing about Ida's character.

There is such a thing in America as personal responsibility."

- Laws of Motion DVD

I completely agree!

Kindness is Wiser

"Sometimes kindness is wiser than truth."

- Lieutenant Columbo

"I don't know why I always remembered that line."

- Laws of Motion DVD

I know why,

because stories are powerful,

because a line in fiction can speak volumes,

because collecting quotations is awesome,

because it says a lot about how we should act and live,

because,

just because.

Conversation Conceals

"Conversation was invented by humans to conceal reality. We use it to sweet talk our way around natural selection."

- Community television show

Best Method of Teaching

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"Christ adopted the teaching procedure of close personal contact because that remains the best method of teaching. Cold print separates precept from example, the style from the man; the greatest teachers convey their knowledge on a person-to-person level, and leave the books to the scribes."

- Dennis Duffy. Canadian Writes: A Subseries: Marshall McLuhan. McClelland and Stewart Limited: Toronto, 1967 pg 24-25

Three Ways Media Exerts Power

Image by Nick J Adams via Flickr

"Media exert their power over our kids in three ways.

First, kids are born to copy, and media provide ready models for our kids to imitate.

Second, media define social norms.

Third, stories are powerful and the media have become the dominant storytellers in our kids' lives.

What's more, media keeps evolving, getting more and more powerful over time."

- David Walsh, PhD. No: Why Kids - of all Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It. Free Press, Toronto. 2007. pg 41

Parents and Teachers - A Good Team

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"Do parents have a role in backing up teachers?

Absolutely.

Adults should act as a team if kids are to learn  the lessons of self-discipline and self-regulation.

The traditional teamwork between parents and teachers has deteriorated in the past generation as society has become more adversarial.

While it is appropriate for parents to advocate for their children, they should do it in a way that does not undermine the teacher.

It's most helpful if you can go into these situations expecting teachers and other school professionals to be part of the team for your child.

Our kids need to see a more unified front.

- David Walsh, PhD. No: Why Kids - of all Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It. Free Press, Toronto. 2007. pg 41

Doesn't Need a Response

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With an older child, a certain amount of mouthiness is to be expected.

Just don't respond, or else say, "I know this is hard for you, I don't expect you to like it, but the family rule is..."

- David Walsh, PhD. No: Why Kids - of all Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It. Free Press, Toronto. 2007. pg 41

Nice Advice!

Teachers can use the same script but replace "family rule" with "class rule."