We’re between book studies so this week we are going to reflect on the importance of anticipating transitions in our lives. This past Tuesday a man I do prison ministry visitation with passed away. I knew he was terminally ill for several months but put off making a visit once I returned home from Florida. […]
Saying Goodbye Takes Time Read More »
Autonomy leads to greater communication with children. Faber & Mazlish have 6 guidelines that encourage autonomy in children. They are: 1. Let Children Make Choices – Child selected choices reduces their need to express resentment. 2. Show Respect for a Child’s Struggle – Adults can be most helpful to a child when they give useful
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Mazlish is right when she says real listening is hard work. You have to concentrate with children so you don’t just give them pat answers to questions they may have. So here are five tips to being a better listener and helper; 1. DESCRIBE — to the child what YOU hear them being concerned about.
How to Become a Better Listener Read More »
Mazlish suggests we avoid the following adult tendencies if we are to become good listeners of children; Don’t ask too many questions. – Kids open up when not bombarded with “20 questions.” Don’t rush to answer questions. – Answering a child’s question with a question encourages them to find their own solutions. Don’t take away
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We’ll be spending the month of April listening to what Faber & Mazlish have to say to us in their book How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk. I often get concerns from mentors about their student who either will not talk to them or will not listen to
How to Talk So Children Will Listen Read More »
“Believe in Me ” is the theme for Voices Of Hope this month and it highlights what saved Liz Murray from a lost life. You recall she spent all of her growing up life on the streets partying with people she thought were her friends. She always woke up empty the morning after. Once she
As a child of poverty, Liz Murray dealt with three agencies that are all too familiar in their insensitivity to those in need. Social Welfare – Liz remembers how caseworkers treated her family with authoritarian disrespect while they relished in the power they were able to wield. Child Welfare – Because she was poorly cared
School Agency Impact Read More »
Liz Murray refused to follow her parents in a lifestyle that included the three greatest evils of poverty; drug addiction, prostitution and dependence on welfare. It was the strength of her personality that helped her avoid these traps. What psychological factors caused her to prevail? 1. Her deep love for her parents caused a role
Psychological Make-up Necessary to Resist Poverty Read More »
