According to a new study, the answer is yes.
Over 40 years ago Standford University researchers conducted a study on self control. They gave 4-year-olds the option to wait 15 minutes and get two pieces of candy or have one piece of candy immediately. Less than one in three kids passed the “marshmallow test.”
We all run into obstacles in our lives, but we don’t all react the same. Some people will find a creative way to maneuver past the challenge, and others will sit down and let the obstacle get in their way. Students might run into small obstacles to their success when they get a bad grade on a research paper or they might be dealt a huge obstacle, like their parent’s unemployment or a death in the family.
By Maureen Breeze
For many students the first weeks of school involve understanding the expectations of new teachers and classes, discovering the best times to go to the locker, making new friends, and establishing different routines. Usually by the time Labor Day weekend rolls around, the demands of school step into high gear.
It’s at this point, we as parents, can help our students develop the best habits possible to promote their academic, emotional, and social success. Perhaps you have a high school student who comes home late from activities, studies until the wee hours of the morning, and by November is unable to sustain the schedule. Or maybe you have an elementary school student who rarely remembers her folder and looses most papers handed to her. Or, perhaps your middle school student is far more interested in staying plugged into his social world through texting and Facebook than completing his math homework.
By Maureen Breeze
Over the years, my mother has traveled to every continent on the globe. At home, she doesn’t eat in fancy restaurants, never shops as a means of entertainment, and rarely spends money frivolously. Instead, she carefully puts part of her paycheck each month into a special savings account for her annual excursion to some far-reaching, exotic destination.
The Carol J. Carter blog is now offering blogs for three audiences: educators, parents, and students. This parent blog is by parent, LifeBound coach, writer, and blogger, Maureen Breeze. We hope you enjoy our new approach and look forward to hearing your feedback. Welcome, Maureen!
More and more school districts are bringing financial literacy into the classroom to teach a new generation how to be financially successful and stable adults. However, many students graduated from high school without an education in finances before the implementation of financial literacy courses and many still aren’t getting it today.
Is your child ready for college?
He scored at the top of his class in high school. She was involved in all the extracurricular activities. He started applying to colleges early. She never missed a day of class. They sound like they’re academically prepared, but do they know how they’re going to pay the bills, rent, loans, and still have some money left over for fun? How are they going to pay back the loans they signed off on once they graduate? Do they understand the price of their investment?
How do you start preparing grade school students for work that hasn’t been invented yet? According to Cathy Davidson, the author of Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn, as much as 65 percent of youth will end up in these jobs which is one reason why educators and parents need to stop fearing technology and learn how to teach it.
In the Mind/Shift article “How Do We Prepare Our Children for What’s Next?” Tina Barseghian writes, Davidson believes this is the time to start adjusting to the digital age, especially since we’re only becoming more dependent on our biggest technological tool, the Internet. “It’s time to survey our lives and figure out what works, what doesn’t, and how we can make real and practical improvements in our schools, our workplace, our every day lives,” says Davidson. And to do so, she suggest the following for parents:
It’s back to school. Parents are sending their students off with new school supplies, driving them to activities, and helping out with homework. When new schedules start, new expenses usually follow closely. Start this school year off by shaving down costs with a few simple tips from Motherboard Moms. These tips are great to share with other parents, college students, and kids of any age so they can start learning about personal money management now:
What’s one way we can help the economy from slipping deeper into the recession and prevent it from happening in the near future? Educate our youth with personal money management skills.