Re: Children with CMT - Accomplishments

[Guest guest]

JoAnn,

You are not a mother or have never been a teacher. I am a mother and have been

a teacher also. I wasn't going to answer you because many times ignorance is a

challenge that a mature adult should overcome by themselves. First of all, there

have been a number of studies showing that parental involvement definitely

increases student performance.

Also, many children, my son included, would not voluntarily do their homework.

In addition, I always go the extra mile with extra research for his projects.

Any good parent would know that inspiring a child to learn is not to be left up

to the schools and often, cannot be accomplished ONLY by the schools. See, for

example, Top of the Class: How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers-and How You

Can Too by Dr. Soo Kim Abboud and Jane Kim.

This is just one of thousands of resources on how to not only help your child

understand his scholastics but how to inspire them by example. In addition to

this, every teacher my son has ever had has told me they wish more parents would

be involved in their child's education.

Second, what are you defending really? I am the one with CMT type 1A. You know,

I can tell that you're ocnfused as you said. No one said it wouldn't be his

accomplishment. However, some parents happen to measure success by what they can

give to their children. I realize that is a hard concept to understand in our

greedy society. However, educating and inspiring learning in children is the

duty of parents.

Educating adults is more of a challenge. However, if you would like more

information on resources for parents who want to give the best to their

children, please let me know!

Dawn

[Guest guest]

Yep, I'm actively involved in my kids' lives/education, too. Plus, there is no

tv/music while homework/studying is being done. As a result, my kids now have no

interest in tv, or banal music. We also talk a lot. About big concepts, too. It

seems my kids can more easily exercise personal discipline when I put reasonable

boundaries, and high expectations, on the table.

[Guest guest]

Having been a child with CMT and growing up in both public and private schools,

we were expected to use library resources for homework. I spent a few hours in

the library each afternoon doing homework by myself (instead of gym). If I had a

question about something, I asked the librarian and she would point me to the

best Encyclopedias for answers. There was a time in high school I also had

enhanced tutorials in math, speed reading, economics, etc.

We were encouraged to be good students - that did not mean " getting all A's " ,

but instead it also meant to model respect and citizenship, ask questions, give

service, have organized study space, etc. At the family dinner table each

evening we shared about what we studied in school that day or what we were

reading, and I remember many interesting conversations with my parents that grew

out of this. This was the best part of the 'educational process' - wrapping what

we were learning into an adult world. The no TV during the week rule was a

given.

Overall, I was pretty much a B student - not good enough for AP, but I did test

out of a 'normal freshman year' in college and was admitted to sophomore status.

So for working part-time after school and pulling a 3.0, I supposed I was

considered accomplished. My parents stayed out of the 'homework hover' and we

learned on our own first, then from parents. I remember in Jr. High history, we

were studying WW 2. I chattered away with what we were studying and what I was

writing about, but hearing Dad's personal experience and stories of his time in

military service gave me a whole different perspective.

Gretchen

[Guest guest]

Hello S and All,

NH just passed a new school bullying law requiring training for adults

working with kids and stricter reporting requirements. I was never

bullyed in school but had occasional situations in my neighborhood until

I gained most of my 78 " height. It seems to me that kids with CMT/HNPP

are more susceptible to bullying and it takes more awareness to be a

parent because of it. I left high school in 1953 and it seems as though

bullying was just not tolerated and I was chastised by my parents for any

fighting behavior.

In younger years, I remember that one time a new football was taken away from me

by a playmate and I came home crying. My parents gave me leave to retrieve it

physically which I promptly did. It seems as though that produced less tendency

for my playmates to do that afterwards.

75 EdM from NH