OCR Text |
Show McCarty: Parents Can Help by Dr. Daryl J. McCarty A Utah law says that public schools "shall so arrange and present their instruction, guidance and plans for pupil and student thinking, discussion, decision and activity as shall give special emphasis em-phasis to... the dignity and necessity of honest labor..." Parents can help educators to do this, and I offer the following follow-ing suggestions on the subject; Tell your sons and daughters that they should reconcile themselves to accomplish ac-complish something they probably don't want to do. Once they reach this point, they're ready to work. Second, persuade them to adopt the attitude at-titude that they're going go-ing to do the job well. Should Drew feel good about mowing the lawn if he didn't sweep the clippings off the sidewalk? Help you child learn from the mistakes he or she will inevitably make on the job. If half of Julie's garden doesn't get irrigated because she didn't level the soil, ask how she will correct the problem. pro-blem. Provide opportunities oppor-tunities for the children to work. If dad is chopping chop-ping firewood while youn g larry is reading comic books, maybe something's wrong. Work with your children in developing their attitudes about work. When they say they'd never work at something like bricklaymg, tell them about how a sports hero washed dishes to earn his college tuition. Let them know there's dignity in all honest work, tell them, as John Gardner said the nation which honors its philosophers more than its plumbers will have leaky pipes and philosophy. Never brag about "how soft I have it at work." That kind of statement may lead your children to the erroneous er-roneous idea that the happiest work they can get is the easiest. Whatever you do, give your children the opportunity to see you demonstrate your belief in the dignity and appreciation ap-preciation for the necesity of honest labor. |