Learning Even When School Is Out
Two people have the most important jobs in the world. Parents. And Teachers.
More than a billion school age kids are out of school at this moment. Teachers are busy figuring out the digital learning landscape. So its important that they stay connect, keep curriculum and teaching methods relevant to the need of the day.
Parents are acting as double agents, navigating their own professional responsibilities while also being full time care providers for their children.
It’s also a time for us as parents to pause and rethink all the skills we must be imparting into our budding adults.
Children might not seem to listen to us, but they most certainly are watching us. They’re watching our every step as navigate these uncertain Corona times with fear, irritability or passivity. They’re observing our words and actions and how we’re coping with our lives and responsibilities.
Life Long Skills
And we must not forget that we’re responsible for teaching them a few essential life skills that will help them in college, career and beyond.
1. How to work well with others
2. How to share available resources and not be greedy
3. How to communicate with clarity
4. How to manage expectations and responsibilities
5. How to challenge status quo and action in time of emergencies
6. How to compliment others’ efforts with their own passions and talents
7. How to deal with stress and uncertainty
8. How to stay motivated to learn
9. How to challenge themselves to grow
10. How to decide what makes up their personal values and character
11. How to make sense of the world around them
–
Parent Cut Hair Meme
–
Staying In Touch
Communication makes the most toughest situations bearable. Stay in touch with your children by talking to them daily about how you’re feeling and giving them the freedom to label their own feelings. Talk about your fears (age appropriately) and ask them what they’re wondering about.
Here are a few things you can use to get started on difficult and honest conversations. Because the alternative, not saying anything, can only compound the confusion children are facing.
Nobody had expected this. We’re not sure what’s going to happen.
But, we must do our part to listen to what’s being advised about social distancing.
If you’re having a problem, let me know.
History tells us that humanity has faced many such strange and dangerous situations, but we’ve always overcome them.
Whenever you have any doubt as to how to act, take the advice of those who’re older and more experienced than you.
Continue doing what you can for your personal well-being and for the well-being of those around you.
Good luck, we’re all in this together.
–
Resources for Corona Times
- How to Preserve Mental Health while Battling Cabin Fever: READ HERE
- How to Cut Yourself and Others Some (Corona) Slack: READ HERE
- Using Corona (Down)Time to Upskill and Reskill: READ HERE
- Compassion in times of Crisis and Catastrophe: READ HERE
- Introducing Free ONLINE Classes!: READ HERE
- On Personal Wellbeing and Pandemics: READ HERE
– 0 –
About The Article Author:
Hi, I’m Rachana. Its been my dream for years to do something to consciously create a better future where every one of us is excited about our own potential. My challenge to everyone is that they aspire for their personal best and leave a legacy of their work through their contributions to mankind.
One more thing. In December of 2044, I hope to win the Nobel.
Will you join me on this journey of growth and transformation?
Namasté.
FREE Parent Workshops
Future STRONG is a global initiative for personal growth. While you’re guiding your children on a path to resilience, independence and happiness, parents, have you thought about “investing in you?” Come join us.
Check Out Our Latest In Mindful Parenting!
Why I Really Have 3,452 Friends: The Quiet Ethos of Enduring Friendship
- Fun days are when I meet many brand new strangers and also have a chance to invite some of them to my home. Yesterday was one such day. I was witness to an event where two friends who had never met after 7th grade, but had stayed in touch, met in person after...
AI Chatbots Are Being Misused to Create Child Sexual Abuse Material. And It’s a Wake-Up Call
- Parents, Here's The News Coming From The IWF For the first time ever, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has confirmed something deeply disturbing: AI chatbots are being used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This isn’t just a hypothetical risk...
Babysitting and Brain Rot Stations: What Kids Can Teach Us About Living in the Now
- Last week, one of our funniest Swamijis (Ramakrishnaji) was in town for a Satsang, so I was assigned the task of babysitting kids at a local chapter of the Chinmaya Mission. As I got on with the task of monitoring what I wondered would be a wolf pack of...
What Marcus Aurelius and Kahlil Gibran Can Teach Us About Surviving (and Thriving) in the Age of AI
- The Poet In My Memory "In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness, and that longing is in all of you." Kahlil Gibran wrote in his seminal work, The Prophet. The first time I came across the name Gibran was in my childhood when my mom would read...
Choosing Growth Over the Easy Win: How to Navigate Life’s Crossroads
- That Y In The Road As a student (indirect) of Swami Chinmayananda, his teachings have had a profound impact on how I live my daily life in a personal capacity as a mother, wife and friend. I also try to imbibe Guruji's teachings in how I interact with my...
Ancient Dreams, Modern Wake-Up Call: What Buddha and Rama Teach Us About Life Today
Challenging Our Heroes With Prompts On a prompt challenge from a friend, I asked ChatGPT questions on what Buddha and Rama would have been thinking at times of extreme turmoil in their lives, especially during some inflection points in life like when Siddhartha...
When AI Becomes More Human Than Humans: Relationships, Intimacy, and the Age of the Promptstitute
- Erotica, Intimacy And AI It feels like yesterday we were seeing huge societal changes happen in the way Gen Z is turning to AI for emotional support instead of actual dating. I had written about it here. And just this summer, I was whining about how adults...
This Diwali, Let’s Seek the Light Within
- Surrendering to our Two Worlds There's no better time than the fall in the US where I see the beautiful dichotomy of our lives. I love learning from my children who effortlessly navigate their two worlds - America when outside in public places and India at...
When Home Is Still Here And We Aren’t – A Poem By Rachana
https://youtu.be/PDINhtHzvNI - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - Unlike refugees, who don’t have a home behind or infront of them, we have a home. But, Will it remember all those mornings that the woodpecker made mating calls from...
They’re Touching Grass! Small Joys of Parenting Gen Z in a Screen-Obsessed World 📵🤳
- The Small Joys of Parenting Gen Z Yesterday, my 21 and 17-year-old were part of a music pop-up show in Piedmont Park in Atlanta. Daniel Caesar, the Canadian singer, was performing for a group of young adults. And the best part, they were touching grass! Too...
Why Vulnerability Is the Ultimate Superpower in Life and Leadership
- Discovering the Power of Vulnerability A few years ago, when I discovered Brené Brown through her books and her podcasts, something shifted in me. I had been asking myself a lot of questions on staying true to my nature and finding alignment in how I acted in...
Let Final Words Celebrate Life and Not Fear Death – A Love Letter to Living Fully
Listen To The Article - A Love Letter to Living Fully I’m writing this in case I die earlier than expected. Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just that if life takes an unexpected turn, I want my final words to be about living, not about dying. I’ve always liked the...