Message to pushy parents.

Cut it out! I understand you want the best for your kids, but there's a fine line between motivating and being pushy. Why wouldn't you want your child to get straight A's through school and get scholarships to the most prestigious schools, or have sports scouts praising their athleticism, or be on television singing the s#*^t out of ABC ? With these plans in mind, parents feel obligated to push their children, and many of those parents push way too hard. What many parents don’t realize is that by forcing their children to do things that are fun, they take the fun and joy out of it. Rather than simply letting children discover their own hobbies or passions, parents are deciding what their children should like.

Joe Jackson and son.

 I can’t tell you how many times I have talked to kids whose parents forced them to participate in extracurricular activities or volunteer opportunities just so that they could add it to their college applications. What kind of lesson is that? -- do things just so that you can selfishly use them to your advantage in the future, rather than doing things because they are fulfilling or meaningful. -- This competitive attitude and behavior of parents who want so badly for their children to be the best, may in fact be causing them to fail. The overwhelming pressure leads children to lose motivation and become so obsessed with meeting their parents’ expectation, that they lose any sense of connection or satisfaction. It is like when you are playing a game simply for fun, but someone is so intent on winning, that all you want is for it to end. Maybe that is why students are so unexcited and stressed out by the thought of school. If all they are focusing on is an end result, than they lose the entire point of education, which is supposed to be learning. There is nothing wrong with nudging your kids in the right direction; Pushing them is wrong.

Check out this Article on pushy parents
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1381201/Is-payback-time-pushy-parents.html

Teachers that everyone hates: Ms. Morello types

Although the character of Ms. Morello is exaggerated, there are teachers like her that exist out there. There are teachers that ignorantly think that they can easily relate to students, or give solutions to problems that either don't exist or problems that they can't fix. I even had a teacher once tell me that I would have more opportunities in school and in life because I'm black ( I hope that it's true). So to you teachers out there; sometimes the best thing to say, is nothing at all.

What works for you? (Chris J. 8th grade)

I sat down with one of my favorite people, my little brother, to pick his brain about his teachers.

Q. What was your best experience with a teacher?

A. Mr. Moore is my favorite teacher ever, he is really funny, especially when he does the daily journals. He can make us laugh but still knows when it's time to teach. He is very wise; he knows a lot about things and he has a very interesting past, so we learn from his life lessons.

Q. What was your worst experience with a teacher?

A. Mr. Rosser was  the worst teacher I've ever had. Unlike many teachers who like when students ask questions, no one does in his class, because everyone is scared to. When you ask a question he'll embarrass you in front of the class. I once asked him what page the lesson would be on and he said "Hm well Chris look at the board, now what page do you think it's on?" and everyone laughed. He never really taught the class; he would give us a graphic organizer and two-column notes, tell us to read a chapter, fill it out and write a 1 page summary on the back. When some unlucky student forgot how much to write he would say "Well how much do we write every other time?"

Q. What teaching methods do you prefer?

A. Anything with less work.

Teachers that everyone likes: Passionate ones!

Why can't every teacher be like this?

Parents take notice: Stop putting your children on leashes!

Young children and married men are the most oppressed people in this world. One thing these two groups share is that they both have leashes. While a married man's leash is figurative, there are children out there who literally have leashes! The married man's leash is self-imposed-- they did choose to be married after-all-- but a child's leash is not; so I will speak on their behalf. 

Really?

 If you have not heard of or seen a child on a leash, consider yourself lucky. It is such a sad sight to see a young kid with a leash on, being walked by their parents. Just hold the kids hand! If you're that worried that your kid will run off, or will misbehave; just be a better parent. What do you think goes through a child's head when they have a leash on?

"Ooh, a doggy! wait, I have a leash on just like he does. This is some bulls*#*t!"

In an effort to not look overly cruel, and to fool the kids, some parents use leashes that look like stuffed animal backpacks. That's not fooling anyone. The kid knows that whenever he tries to run and get the skittles, you yank him back.

Really?

So parents, please do not put your child on a leash. Just follow what the next image says.