Blog

Tag: common sense parenting

Uncategorized

Is There a Secret to a Successful Charter School?

Letter to the Editor, (WSJ) 9/21/19

Robert Pondiscio’s, The Secret of a Charter School’s Success? Parents, is no secret. Parent participation in a child’s education has been an established fact well before the results of the 1966 Coleman Report. The largest study of its kind up to that point concluded that more resources, even for disadvantaged children, was not the best determiner of school success. The best determiner of school success was and is the “quality of the family.”

Success Academy’s demanding protocols coupled with some parent requirements are possible because charter schools can act independently from state regulations and teacher unions which strangle the standard public school.

However, there is no magic in establishing a charter school. Many of them fail for the same reason that public schools fail; teachers and administrators who staff charter schools are selected from the same talent pool eligible to be hired by private and public schools. There are never enough outstanding teachers and principals.

The first year my grandchildren were enrolled in a charter school in Florida, was a year of achievements and success. The parents were happy too. When the dynamic principal left for a better opportunity, her replacement, with the same faculty, did not enjoy the confidence of the staff or parents and there was a lot of grumbling.

The X factor, no secret, that contributes to a child’s success in school and life are parents who accept their sacred responsibility as their child’s first teachers and role models. They don’t rely on schools to raise their children.

James L. Casale, Tequesta, Florida

asian-kids
Raising Kids

Are Parents Too Soft on Their Kids?

Are Parents Too Soft on their Kids?

By

James L Casale, Ph.D.

 

Part 1-Three True Stories

Part 2-What to Do? What to Do? (coming soon)

 

Part 1- Three True Stories

 

Story # 1

While dining in one of our favorite restaurants in Juno Beach, Florida, my wife and I observed the following episode:

A mom, accompanied by her toddler son, the boy’s grandmother, and the child’s humungous toy fire engine, were seated at a table near us. The boy placed the fire engine directly on top of the table, leaving little room for anything else.

The server arrived to take their order. The server may have assumed that the toy truck would no longer be on top of the table when she returned with the food. WRONG, the toy remained on the table and the server had to figure out where to place the food other than on top of the heads of mom and grandma.

Where are the adults in this situation? Who is teaching whom? What is this kid learning?

  1. Casale’s Rule # 17-No toys, games, or electronics are allowed at any table anywhere when food and family conversation are being served.

True Story #2

A kindergartner was in the principal’s office with his parents listening attentively to the principal and the teacher. These two professional educators were calmly explaining the reasons why this child should not be taking things from other kids’ desks and claiming them as his own. When the conference concluded and the participants were leaving, the mother was overheard saying to her child, “It’s no big deal.”

What is this boy learning? What goes on in this home? Dr. Casale’s Rule # 2-No stealing.

 

True Story #3

A young man in his early twenties decided that it would be nothing more than a prank to throw a live alligator through the drive-in window at a local Wendy’s. He easily qualifies as a moron, even though, when being interviewed by a local TV organization outside the police station, he appeared to be sane as well as remorseful.

He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and theft. When his mother heard the charges, she thought them to be extreme and said. “Well, I mean, how could you not think that something like that was a prank.” 

This young man lives with his parents and has never heard of Dr. Casale’s Rule # 7; Don’t be stupid even if your parents will defend you at the gates of hell.

 

Dr. Casale is a state and national award-winning educator, author, and national speaker. His popular podcast, COMMON SENSE PARENTING, airs each Thursday at 2:00 PM on w4wn.com (The Women for Women network). All shows are available on iHeartRadio.His website is www.commonsenseparenthood.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

 

 

 

happy_family
Parenting

Profiles in Attitude: Effective Parenting Begins Here

Profiles in Attitude: Effective Parenting Begins Here

By

James L. Casale

 

If you think parenting is a struggle, and mostly an uphill one, you are correct. However, you may need an attitude adjustment. There’s a reason that Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking sold five million copies. He was onto something so basic that all of us can identify with it: attitude not only matters; it’s the building block for the experiences that follow. Without it, parents have no starting point for their parenting journey. Hopefully, the following vignettes will inspire and encourage parents with the “I can do it” mindset.

You Must Believe in Yourself and Your Abilities

On September 11, 2014, a baseball thrown by Mike Fiers crashed into the left side of the batter’s face at 88 miles per hour, resulting in broken bones, smashed teeth, and unimaginable pain. How did the batter survive the physical and mental trauma, return to baseball the next season, and, in 2017, become the MVP and hit 59 home runs?

Other men hit by errant baseballs above the neck never returned to the “bigs,” and if they did, they were not the same players. But Giancarlo Stanton overcame his physical and mental injuries with exceptional resolve, courage, determination, and grit, all based on a foundation of believing in himself and his abilities. He had and still has attitude. He did make a minor adjustment to his batting helmet, which indicates lesson learned and good judgment.

Alvin Hall is probably unknown to you as one of the many thousands of thalidomide babies born with physical deformities. He was born without arms. This handicap did not deter him, because he still had a fully functioning brain and an ample supply of attitude. He did not grow up feeling sorry for himself. He charged ahead with the same determination and resolve that Giancarlo demonstrated and taught himself to play the drums and piano with his feet. He also became a motivational speaker.

Tom Dempsey, despite his physical handicaps, made history and was admired for what he had to overcome: a deformed right foot with no toes and a right hand with no fingers. He not only played in the NFL but was a star. On November 8, 1970, his 63-yard field goal as time expired won the game 19–17 for the New Orleans Saints over the Detroit Lions.

Have you ever heard about the Major League pitcher with no right hand? In 1986, he was presented with the United States Sports Academy’s Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias Award for his courage in overcoming adversity to excel in sports. A year later, he won the Golden Spikes Award for being the best amateur player in the United States. In 1992, he was presented with the Tony Conigliaro Award, given annually by the Boston Red Sox to a Major League player who has overcome obstacles and adversity through spirit, determination, and courage. I will unabashedly substitute the word “attitude” for the word “spirit.” Oh, by the way, James Anthony Abbot also pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees against the Cleveland Indians in 1993. Yes, he was a good fielder too. He believed in himself and his abilities. He exuded attitude.

Have you seen the movie The Darkest Hour? Have you read the book? Winston Churchill was a rock of self-confidence, determination, commitment, and courage in the face of possibly being destroyed by the Nazis. He listened to advice and his critics but didn’t waver from his position of not giving in to Hitler’s demands. He would not capitulate, and later, during WWII, his famous words would resound around the world: “Never, never, never, never give up” He didn’t. He won. Hitler lost.

J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected 140 times. You know the rest of the story. Taylor Swift had her mom drive her around to every country radio station in the English-speaking world so she could give the disc jockeys a copy of her homemade CD. You know the rest of that story too.

 

Effective parenting is not brain surgery; it’s harder. But you are not alone. Accurate information is available in a variety of forms: books, magazines, research studies, podcasts, experts, websites, and sometimes grandma and grandpa. You chose to have children; your children didn’t choose you. Raising lifelong learners and men and women of character and virtue within a family culture that emphasizes kindness, respect, self-control, responsibility, and humility is your sacred duty. And it requires a positive attitude.