I am making a passionate plea to parents and teachers who believe that schooling is the alpha and omega of a child’s life.  Often, schools have convinced students and parents that a child’s focus must exclusively be centered on academic concerns during every waking hour.

This is not a question of whether a quality academic program plays an integral role in the life of our children.  However, do parents and teachers understand the necessity of creating a climate so that children are able to find balance in their lives?  Schooling, as important as it is, should not be the only focus of a child’s daily lifestyle.  There should be more to a child’s life than teaching, learning, and the reaction of parents to a child’s academic performance.



 
Have you gotten "the call" from your child's school? Janet Lehman, MSW talks frankly about how she and her husband James dealt with it when their son had trouble at school.

In September of our son’s third grade year, we got the phone call from his teacher. She said she was really concerned about our child’s chances of passing that year. I was shocked, angry and anxious—and terribly embarrassed, both as a mother and a social worker who “should have known” what was going on. I immediately took the stance of viewing myself as the victim in the situation. In fact, very quickly it became all about me.