#2 - Every child needs a champion, but every champion needs to be supported
Hi all!
Welcome to the second edition of The First School! In the previous post, we looked at one of the most wonderful poems called “Children Learn What They Live” by Dorothy Law Nolt, which I felt was worthy enough to serve as a preamble for all well-wishers of children (us). I felt delighted that many of you found the poem personally moving and relevant, and some of you reached out saying you are going to print it out!
Many of you also raised a valid question: “What actions should we adults take to ensure we subject our children to positive experiences?” This question is what we will answer in all our future posts. But for now, there is one more step to take.
Last week, I emphasized on “The Why” of this newsletter series: “Children are the result of all the experiences given to them, but they grow up observing and imitating the adults around them keenly.”
Today, I’m going to emphasize on “The What”: “What does it entail for an adult to provide positive experiences to their kid(s)?” I can relate to this quote from the book “Simply Fly” by Captain Gopinath:
“If you want to earn the respect of your men, you have to be professionally better than them. You have to work harder than them. You have to stretch yourself more than them. Do not spare your men but more importantly do not spare yourself. If you ask them to work for six hours, you must work for eight hours. If you tell them to go without food, you must go without food and water. Whatever you do, you must put them before you. Putting them before you will always show you the way. Whether you are in the army or civilian life, putting your men before you — will always lead the way for you.”
There is no doubt that all of us want our children to succeed, and that we strive hard for it (as Captain Gopinath says). But often, it can get extremely overwhelming. When my lesson plans don’t go as per plan, or when some learners are extremely difficult to handle, I feel awful. Then I watch this ted talk by Rita Pierson called “Every kid needs a champion”, again and again. The link for the video is available below, but here is the gist from her powerful ted talk:
Picture Courtesy: https://blog.ted.com/remembering-educator-rita-f-pierson/
Links for the ted talk: Mini Version (02:36) | Full Version (07:36)
Rita Pierson’s talk offers me (and you, I hope) empathy (I understand it’s not easy), motivation (You are a champion!) and a way forward (Don’t underestimate the power of connection)!
As you may have guessed, for children to be subjected to positive experiences during their childhood and beyond, adults need to be well-supported themselves! Well supported adults lead to well-supported children. Unfortunately, a lot of us undermine our wellness and the need for being supported and focus elsewhere!
Which is why, in the coming posts, we will look at “The How”: “How can adults be well-supported?”
We will turn to more people like Dorothy Nolt Law, Rita Pierson & Captain Gopinath.
What are your thoughts on this article? Please feel free to share them with the community!
See you next Friday! In the meantime, stay awesome and help me spread the word. We are marching towards 200 subscribers!
Everybody loves to be respected and especially when we get into a new company or team we expect respect from our peers or juniors at the drop of a hat. Even though I had an idea that respect can only be earned and not demanded, the lines from simply fly was simply amazing. It makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing these kind of excerpts from books and Ted talks sriram
good one .2 hands clapped together makes noise. its important that both hands always join together. Parents and children both shouldn't give up. I watched Gunjan Saxena .The Father thoroughly supported the daughter to fly high .