Have you ever sat back and thought of your school days? Ever thought of the friends that you had, your favorite teacher or even your favorite cafeteria food? Pizza day! I can almost taste the spicy pepperoni.
Now that I am older I look back and see the same with my children. Of course, they are much easier to wake up than I ever was. As they get on their bicycles with their hair freshly combed and clothes scented with Downy, they have a bright look in their eyes as they anticipate the day. With a smile on their face and their bellies filled with a good breakfast they head off to school to learn.
Rewind to my childhood (date undisclosed to protect the old).
The daily monotony of school seemed imminent with the only excitement coming from running away from someone with cooties or a game of well played dodge ball. The rest of the day was spent with knowledge being gently poured into my head that would soon lead me on my journey toward being an asset to society. Ahh, if everything was that perfect.
You see, growing up, I often used my fingers to assist in my counting. Actually, the shenanigans lasted well into grade school; not many people know that about me, please try and contain your laughter. After the semester meeting with my parents and teacher I received the not so exciting gift of spending an hour every day after school running regular math drills to keep the finger counting down. Needless to say, this particularly painful experience turned me off to math, even to this day.
Algebra never had a chance. In high school, by the time my parents realized I was failing it was almost too late. The communication gap between my teacher and parents was just too great. Months went by as my mother nursed my math back to a passing grade. Growing up, the teacher’s only resource at communicating with the parent was the infamous, yet antiquated Parent-Teacher Conference. Today, we have the internet and a beautiful plethora of online tools and resources to keep in touch with anyone we so desire.
Fast-forward to 2009.
Schools today use technology to communicate, some more effectively than others, but they use it none the less. With interactive web sites utilizing student/parent portals, assignments get forgotten less, test scores are more difficult to lie about and report cards make it home (or to your inbox). My kids teachers have my email address in which we correspond with regularly, we follow each other’s tweets, and some of them are even my friends on Facebook.
Had these communications lines been open when I was growing up, I wouldn’t have an aversion to math and could probably count without using my fingers. The problem could have been as Barney Fife so eloquently put it, “nipped in the bud.” Today, as parents, we are made aware of any debilitating habits immediately. We can address the issues and get our kids back on the right path quickly before any bad habits are formed.
The internet and all the valuable tools that come with that connectivity have given us a chance to become a stronger community. Our kids have more opportunity than we ever had at gaining knowledge in a greater variety of ways. If they want to learn something (or if we want to teach them something we don’t already know), it’s only a google search away. Our teachers can communicate with us quickly and easily; and conversely, we can respond fast and address issues before they get worse. As we strengthen the lines of communication between us and our kids teachers, a stronger bond is forged and we minimize the obstacles our children have to pass through in order to achieve success.
In an old story I can sign off by telling you, “… My part will not be missed.” - unless it comes to math.
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