My daughter is finishing up her sophomore year of college, feeling the quintessential end of the year burnout – studying for exams, finishing assignments, packing, moving out, securing summer research. She’s got the staying power, and she’ll pull it off as she always does. But her situation has inspired me to reflect about the many times in my life when I found it difficult to finish projects with the same enthusiasm as I started. We’ve all experienced that.
Failure is inevitably the result of losing steam. I like to think of it like this – If I do a project well 90% of the way, and then slack off during the last leg, I somewhat wasted my 90% effort. The best example I have that comes to mind involves a woman who used to work with me at a bank. She felt trapped in her administrative assistant position, and after talking to her about it, I learned something very interesting. She went to college at night for 6 years and got burnt out, so she took a semester off before finishing the very last class she needed to earn a BS degree in Business. One semester turned into 2, then 3 and 4, so two years passed since her last class and she still had not finished her degree. After contacting the university to re-enroll, she discovered that the program’s requirements had significantly changed, and she would have to go back to school for 2 more years at night to meet those requirements and earn that degree. She couldn’t bear to do it. Ah, if only she had stayed on course . . .
She never finished.
How would it look if she put on her resume that she almost had that degree? It’s better if she never mentions that she attended the university. Would you hire someone who completed 98% of her degree and never went back? I wouldn’t.
Every time I feel sluggish about reaching a goal, I recall her decision to not finish what she started. I like to look at projects as time well spent or time wasted. Being a successful finisher means refusing to settle for incomplete, unfinished or mediocre. Refusing to waste time doing a project part way is the best motivator.
It’s fine to take a break, regroup, stretch a bit. But finish what you started as well as you can. And save the celebrating for after the job is done well.
February is Black History Month in the USA. This is a great time to explore American history and some of the many inspirational African Americans who helped shape our great nation. Here are some ways you can celebrate and learn with your children:
This was a year of big changes in our home, and we handled all these changes quite well.. Our daughter (only child) went to college 1200 miles from home, I turned 50, my husband got a new job and we got a new dog, among other things.
The crazy weather here and all over the world reinforced my belief in global warming and the need to do something about it.
War is never a good thing.
The older I get, the less “stuff” I want.
The older I get, the less crap I am willing to put up with.
A great yoga teacher can change your life.
Surrounding myself with happy, positive, fun people is the only way to go.
There are people in our communities who are in great need of help. Rather than trying to help everyone a little bit, it is perfectly wonderful to help a special someone a whole lot.
Did you read this article in the NY Times about a once- failing school in MA, that now outperforms 90% of the schools in the state on stadardized tests? What an inspiring story!
A simple program was put into place where reading and writing were incorporated into every single class at the school, including gym class. What is most surprising is that the high school featured in the article, Brockton High, is huge, with over 4,000 students! That certainly contradicts the theory that smaller schools are better.
Read the article and then you’ll see that there is indeed a great deal of hope for our failing schools!
Debbie Glade is the author of the award-winning children’s book/CD The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica. She visits South Florida schools with her reading and writing programs and has been a freelance writer since 1988. Her publishing company sponsors and judges writing contests. She is a book reviewer for LA Parent Magazine and a travel editor on www.wanderingeducators.com. She blogs daily on www.smartpoodlepublishing.com/blog, where you’ll find her weekly comic strip. Her credentials include a BA in Writing from Florida State University.
In addition to working with children, Debbie is very familiar with the grueling college application process, as her own daughter is now a freshman at an Ivy League University. She has helped countless students of all ages with their writing challenges and does so with humor, taking the frustration out of the reading and writing process.
This morning I sat in a Starbucks, drinking iced tea (and trying to ignore a loud, obnoxious man sitting near me) while reviewing a book about Teddy Roosevelt for LA Parent Magazine. Roosevelt’s life was fascinating – his passions, ideals, tragedies and triumphs. I really got into reading about him when it suddenly hit me that there’s so much to learn about everything. No matter how many books I read, how much research I do, there’s an infinite amount of intriguing facts I just don’t know, but desperately want to know.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com
A person could spend two lifetimes just becoming an expert on US Presidents alone. But I cannot focus on just one thing. There are too many fascinating subjects. For instance, I’d love to be an entomologist and study insects in detail. Or a forensic scientist and solve crimes using DNA. Of course I want to know all about the world – people, places, cultures, natural wonders and mysteries yet to be solved. And I long to discover facts about famous artists, scientists, writers and successful business people. And the list goes on.
Until I can figure out how to get an endless amount of knowledge into my brain, I’ll keep absorbing as much information as possible about any and everything I can get my hands on.
An article in the NY Times this week describes the extremes colleges are now going to to prevent and catch cheaters. It’s rather shocking. Cheating starts at a young age and festers into adulthood. Here are some of the factors that go into creating cheaters.
Children who do the following are more likely to cheat:
have ultra competitive parents who pressure their children to excel or are compared to others who do well.
have parents who are never satisfied with their accomplishments.
have an overachieving sibling who is older and is compared to that sibling by parents and others.
have cheating parents – cheat on their taxes, cheat on their spouses, cheat others in business.
are involved in highly competitive sports with competitive coaches.
attend a very competitive school with competitive peers.
attend a university where they are ranked.
who are overwhelmed by their work load.
have access to the internet on their cell phones.
have cheated before and got away with it or were caught but suffered little or no consequences.
see how easy it is for others to do it.
So how do you raise a child to resist the temptation to cheat?
Get your own practices in check. Are you a cheater even in “subtle” ways? Are you ultra competitive?
Often parents push because they want their child to accomplish what they did not have the motivation to do themselves. That is a common situation among most parents, however it is important to be realistic about what your child can do and wants to do.
Watch what you say and hint to your children. “Wow, Tommy got a perfect score on that test you struggled with, so it can be done if you try harder, Son.” “Great job. Maybe next time you can do even better!”
Be mindful of your body language and facial expressions when your children are sharing good news with you.
Don’t push sports on your children if they are not interested. If they do love sports, don’t make it everything. Constantly talking about winning or a mistake a child made in a game is a huge mistake.
Encourage your child to participate in some activities and hobbies that are not competitive.
Don’t pressure your child to take accelerated classes or a workload that is too difficult for him. Don’t push the Gifted Program if is not the right fit for your child.
Don’t fight for your child’s grades at school and contest teachers’ decisions unless it is absolutely necessary, and rarely will that be the case.
Do talk to your child from an early age about cheating, and that you will not condone it for any reason, no matter what others are doing.
If your child is caught cheating or you yourself discovers that she cheated, take immediate action. Make sure the consequences fit the crime.
Please check out my new article on Wandering Educators, “I Saw it in a Museum.” I wrote about my top 5, most inspirational museum visits of all time. I think you’ll enjoy it!
What is Earth Day anyway? It is a special day set aside to encourage people to appreciate the earth’s natural resources and help preserve the environment. It is celebrated on April 22nd each year.
So what can you do with your kids to celebrate this important day?
Go to Earthday.organd search for special events in your community. There are so many activities going on through the country today, and this website let’s you search events by zip code.
Do some gardening. Plant a tree, buy some seeds for an organic vegetable garden or just plan out your ideas with your kids for a summer garden.
Clean up. Volunteer to pick up garbage on your street on the beach, at a park or somewhere else near your home.
Learn something new together. Check out a book from the library, or go online to learn about global warming, pollution, consumer use of natural resources or the truth about our world’s diminishing rain forests. Learn about using renewable resources to build homes and products we use every day.
Do a craft. Make a wreath for your front door using natural things you find outside. Paint a rock. Recycle some materials into a beautiful craft, like the ones here on Kaboose.com.
Visit a museum or a zoo. Find a museum in your city that has an environmental or plant exhibit, or go to your local zoo to learn about how animals other than humans rely on natural resources to survive.
Write a story together. Your kids will love writing a story about the rain forest, plants and animals or saving the earth. You can illustrate it too.
Send a letter. Have your child write a letter to a congress person or local official about the importance of preserving the earth. You may just get a reply.
Eat outside. Celebrate the earth with a healthy, all natural picnic dinner at a park or right in your own back yard.
Be thankful. Make a list of all the beneficial aspects of a clean world as well as all the things you could no longer do without some of our natural resources.
Every day should be Earth Day! Now go out there and enjoy it!
