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Drawing Vitality From The Toughest of Days

…a timely skill for parents and kids!

By Vicki L. Rueckert, Ed.D. May 31, 2020

These days might be considered the worst of times, but our responsibility is to help our children to navigate life even when it is not easy. 

Most importantly letting them seeing us, as adults, go and grow through our toughest of days.  Time and time again, we are noted to either GO through a situation or we GROW through the situation.  Research has shown that children who have weathered difficult situations as children/teenagers, are more likely to be able to successfully navigate difficult situations in their adult life…they’ve been there done that!!  

We are leaving lasting impressions on our children.  Are they impressions filled with grit, flexibility, problem solving, optimism, social responsibility, initiativeself-control and self-regard and balance?  Each of which are a few of the identified skills needed to be productive 21st Century citizens. In fact, for the last few months, we’ve been so overtaken with the academic focus of online learning, we’ve forgotten there is more to life than academics, as we guide our children/teenagers into adulthood.  Joseph Chilton Pearce, American author and lecturer states it well, What we are teaches the child far more than what we say, so we must be what we want our children to become."  

It’s time to seek joy, a time to celebrate, even the smallest of accomplishments and focus on the positives.Let’s give our children/teenagers a sense of hope. There is a time for mourning, but a recognition of life going forward is critical.  Parents/grandparents celebrate…you’ve just finished your first stint as a facilitator of learning.  Online school has come to a close.  Live in the moment…take a breath and enjoy the break.  Help your learner to also celebrate the finish of the year!  Not all parents/grandparents were comfortable with ‘home schooling’ their learners, and not all learners, were able to stay focused with online learning. In fact, the majority of parents/grandparents struggled, and many children struggled, too.  If summer lessons are needed, seek out the professionals, let them help prepare your learner for the next school year.  

It’s time to regroup and to focus our attention and theirs, on the present…there’s a reason why the rear-view mirror is so small, and the windshield is so big, because where you’re headed is much more important than what you’ve left behind. 

Let’s take time to check our G.P.A. (GOAL, PLAN, ACTION).  This will allow us to deal totally with the here and now, and ultimately move forward…a valuable life-long skill for our children/grandchildren.  Years ago, as I started in a new position as principal, one of my colleagues helped me to put life into perspective.  His suggestion was for me to ask myself, when concerned with a decision or an outcome, “Is it really going to make a difference in a 100 years?”  Maybe it’s time for all of us to ask ourselves that question.  

About AlaCarte Learning Solutions, Fort Collins

Dr. Vicki L. Rueckert, CEO/Center Director

Ala Carte Learning Solutions, Inc. was founded to help students learn. We have three centers located in Fort Collins, Windsor and Greeley. We believe that if the student hasn't learned, it is our duty to re-teach!  We take the time to teach each of our students. Our continual program of Mastery Testing insures the improvement of skills, ONE STUDENT AT A TIME!

 At the heart of our program is the Direct Instruction curriculum, a systematic, research-proven, multi-sensory teaching methodology that is founded on the belief that all students can learn. This methodology is fast-paced and highly interactive. No matter the student's educational history, behavioral pattern, or learning preferences, this methodology has proven to be effective. Every Direct Instruction program at Ala Carte Learning Solutions provides structured, personalized support to meet the needs of individual students in a variety of settings.                                                     

1 Student + 1 Teacher + 1 Hour = Success!98.6% Success Rate Guaranteed!

www.alacartelearning.com