RISD REPORT
Rockdale ISD students, teachers and parents are back in the school mode as of last week. Students have enjoyed days full of leisure and fun, but most felt the need to get back to the routine of school. More importantly, they looked forward to catching up with friends they have not seen or talked to all summer. Teachers have also enjoyed the summer, and have been working the last couple of weeks prior to the first day preparing for their classes. They, too were ready to resume the routine, and were glad to get their students back in their classrooms last Thursday. Parents were definitely ready for the first day of school, probably more so than the first two groups mentioned. Speaking of parents, you play a crucial role in the development of strong positive values that are established at a very early age of all children. Positive values and actions that are modeled by parents provide their children with experiences that emphasize the importance of positive behaviors. When parents offer an environment that is based on strong morals and values, they:
• Help their children to know the difference between right and wrong.
• Encourage them to become independent.
• Develop their integrity.
• Help them to listen to their conscience.
• Develop healthy happy children and later adults. Peer pressure has a powerful impact on children, but if children have a strong support system with positive values, they will have the tools to make the right decisions and not “follow the crowd” thus avoiding negative consequences. Search Institute researchers have identified six positive values that are critical to help young people to develop into healthy and happy adults. They are:
• Caring—The value of
.. helping and caring for other people.
• Equality and Social Justice—The value of promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.
• Integrity—The value of acting on convictions and standing up for their beliefs.
• Honesty—The value of telling the truth even when is not the easy thing to do.
• Responsibility—The value of accepting and taking personal responsibility.
• Restraint—The value of believing that it is important not to be sexually active or use drugs/alcohol. Children today have a multitude of influences that were not present in our daily lives 20 or more years ago. Cell phones, the internet and social media have changed the landscape of our society, but the basis of strong, positive values has not changed. If children have a foundation built on strong positive values, they can overcome the negative influences and take advantage of these innovations using them in a way that is productive rather than destructive. Parents must be willing to understand the responsibility they to their children, and put forth the effort to teach their children the positive values they need to be healthy, happy and successful. As we begin the 2019-20 school year, it is very important to remember that you, the parents, are the most influential part of your children’s lives, and the next in line are your children’s teachers. Rockdale ISD staff members are committed to providing the children of Rockdale the best opportunity possible to learn, and at the same time reinforce the values you have taught them. Together, we can make the difference in the lives of our children that can last a lifetime.
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