It’s a new school year, and we’re back to writing again. Welcome to those of you who are new to our blog, and good to share with you again to those who are returning! We have chosen the word common to explore this week. We hear the term common often nowadays: Common Core, common sense, The Commons on the Internet. There are at least five definitions of the word common, and I have to wonder why the rapper chose “Common” as his name.
How much do we really have in common? I hear people ask us to use “common sense,” but I’m not sure what makes sense to me makes sense to the next person. I think there was a time when a lot of people had the same idea about things and we called that sense “common.” That was a simpler time… back when there were just three television channels… back when we only heard local news…back when our “worlds” were much smaller.
Today, I am amazed when parents tell me that pediatricians are recommending beginning potty training at three. My children both were potty-trained before two. I cringe as parents tell me of day care center workers who no longer correct bad behavior, but rather “re-direct” the focus of the child. And I refuse to join the ranks of those who have thrown out teaching cursive writing. (If we cannot read the documents our founding forefathers wrote, we have to trust that what others tell us is true. That didn’t go so well for the men of Afghanistan who could not read their Quran and, therefore, became easy targets for the deceit of the Taliban.)
Do I have much in common with the “sense” of today? I don’t know. Is my generation’s thinking becoming obsolete? It might be, but I don’t think our teaching style is. I recently conducted a tour in which the prospective client told me that he asks all of the children who come through his business which school they attend. Inevitably, the best ones come from our school. He made the decision that he wanted his son to attend our school, too. What a great compliment! Believe me, it is not a coincidence… we work very hard to make sure our kids make wise choices. We let them know when they’ve made bad ones, and we help them to make better choices next time.
This blog is intended to offer help to parents of gifted children. You will find that raising gifted kids requires some ingenuity. Expect our blog to offer some uncommon ideas because your kids are anything but common!
- Michelle