Weekly Series — Behavior Made Easy
“Assume the best with a positive expectation and you will see all the good around you.”
Stop.
Close your eyes, think of one thing that makes your child a “superhero”.
Do it now!
What did you come up with?
Send a message to yourself on your phone and refer to it every morning.
Start each day with a reminder of what makes your children unique and special. They hold the key to meet the challenges of the next generation. Many of these skills are not even appreciated yet in today’s society.
One of our first grade students possesses the incredible superpower of awareness and empathy. She intuitively knows if other students are sad or sick. She goes out of her way to make them a card or picture to cheer them up. If students are absent she is the first one to notice.
As a 7 year old she is catching up on learning her letters, numbers and starting to learn some words. According to the so-called academic standards, she is behind. But on the emotional awareness scale she is far beyond most of her peers. She will learn to read and write because of her strong family support system. She will have all the encouragement and practice needed.
It is because they do not define her by her academics she will have no boundaries on what she can become. They know that her superpower is what makes her uniquely her.
So where do we start? The Pygmalion Effect.
The Pygmalion Effect is defined as the phenomenon whereby one person’s expectation for another person’s behavior comes to serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy”
When we expect certain behaviors of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behavior more likely to occur. (Rosenthal and Babad, 1985)
If we assume the best outcomes and intentions for our children we begin to see those outcomes. It just takes a hand on their shoulder and a kind word of encouragement. We create the path for them. Help them harness their superpower. They do possess the power to change the world.
I hope this was helpful. All your comments and input are greatly appreciated. Don’t forget to join our newsletter at daVinci Publishing
