Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Jenn: Great Expectations
Posted by
Cara
I expect a lot from my kids - and don't always give them credit when they meet or exceed my expectations. I believe that much should be expected from children - the more they are expected to do - the more they will do. There is a quote "To whom much is given is much required." [Luke 12:49]
I give a lot to my children and in return I do require certain behaviors - social and academic. I would like to add cleanliness to that but I think that may be pushing it a bit. My two oldest kids are great students and I am very proud of that fact. Would they be great students if I didn't push them? I don't know - I think they would be good students, but perhaps not great. Today, my 10-year-old daughter was presented with a Presidential Award for Academic Excellence at her moving up ceremony - the same award her brother received two years ago. The requirements are stringent, including both state test scores and classroom performance for both 4th and 5th grade. She was also the speaker for her class. Her speech talked about how great CRES is and how much she will miss everyone - but she also talked about her big brother and how great it will be to be at the same school as him (if only for a year). She talked about the fact that he was an honors student - and she wants to be that too. For her, her brother is her motivator because she wants to be better than he is. She needs to prove to her brother, to herself and to her parents that she can do anything her brother can - and maybe even a little bit better.
In our house, everyone works. Daddy has a job in the city, Mom takes care of the home front and the kids need to take care of their schoolwork and activities. Everyone needs to do well in their job and rewards are given. I think sometimes, as parents, we can push our kids too much or not enough - somewhere, we need to find a balance. Everyday I try to find that balance - and even though I expect my kids to win all the awards and get straight A's, I am always a little bit surprised and delighted when they do.
Cara's two cents: Go Luke! I love that...maybe I need another plaque on my wall!
I give a lot to my children and in return I do require certain behaviors - social and academic. I would like to add cleanliness to that but I think that may be pushing it a bit. My two oldest kids are great students and I am very proud of that fact. Would they be great students if I didn't push them? I don't know - I think they would be good students, but perhaps not great. Today, my 10-year-old daughter was presented with a Presidential Award for Academic Excellence at her moving up ceremony - the same award her brother received two years ago. The requirements are stringent, including both state test scores and classroom performance for both 4th and 5th grade. She was also the speaker for her class. Her speech talked about how great CRES is and how much she will miss everyone - but she also talked about her big brother and how great it will be to be at the same school as him (if only for a year). She talked about the fact that he was an honors student - and she wants to be that too. For her, her brother is her motivator because she wants to be better than he is. She needs to prove to her brother, to herself and to her parents that she can do anything her brother can - and maybe even a little bit better.
In our house, everyone works. Daddy has a job in the city, Mom takes care of the home front and the kids need to take care of their schoolwork and activities. Everyone needs to do well in their job and rewards are given. I think sometimes, as parents, we can push our kids too much or not enough - somewhere, we need to find a balance. Everyday I try to find that balance - and even though I expect my kids to win all the awards and get straight A's, I am always a little bit surprised and delighted when they do.
Cara's two cents: Go Luke! I love that...maybe I need another plaque on my wall!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
These are our original posts...
Grab Our Button
Grateful Sunday
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
0 comments:
Post a Comment