Fall 2017
From the Head of School With summer past, autumn arriving, and the first term of school officially behind us, I hope you will find this little trifold of information - Autumn Thoughts - to be a helpful resource. It contains book recommendations by our faculty and details about upcoming parent educational opportunities on campus as well as tidbits of parenting information we hope will be useful. First, we are very excited to offer two educational opportunities on campus this year for our parents. You can read on the following page about our guest speaker, Bill Clarkson, and one of our faculty members, Debbie Engle, who will be sharing their expertise and insights into education and parenting. Secondly, I am grateful to our faculty for developing a shortlist of book recommendations. Each year, a columnist that I read releases his ‘Top 10’ articles of the year. I am always eager to see his shortlist of essays and articles, because I know he has scoured the best of what has been written and directs me to great writing that I might otherwise have missed. With our busy schedules and fast paced lives I think we are grateful when anyone can give us a shortlist. Each subsequent year’s Autumn Thoughts will contain a new list of recommendations. We have pulled together a number of works by school division to reflect the age and stage you find yourself in as a parent. Several of the books recommended have been useful for faculty in understanding their work with various age ranges as a teacher and parent. However, nearly every book recommended is written for parents, not just educators. You will also find several book recommendations for your children. You will notice that many of the works we have recommended were written quite recently. As a rule of thumb, I have always thought it a good idea for every few books you read that were written recently to pick up an older one the next time. Each era has its own outlook. By reading a few of the older books on education and parenting it helps us to understand not only that author’s outlook but our own outlook better. In that spirit, I would like to offer you three suggestions on the topics of education and parenting that are much ‘older’ but are excellent and enduring. You will find these listed below. We hope that you can take away one book suggestion that will help you this year in the education and parenting of your child. We pray that God will continue to bless and give you wisdom, and we hope these few suggestions will help you along that road. Happy reading!
On Education by Immanuel Kant
The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
Father and Son: A Study of Two Temperments by Edmund Gosse
Speaker Series Friday, February 23rd (more details to follow) Bill Clarkson A graduate of St. Mark’s School of Texas, Bill earned his B.A. from Duke University, his Master of Divinity from The General Theological Seminary, and his Doctor of Ministry from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He joined the consulting team at Carney, Sandoe & Associates after serving as Head of The Westminster Schools in Atlanta for 23 years. Before joining Westminster, he was Head of the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia. Bill has also worked in parish ministry and pastoral counseling. Bill serves on several Boards, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, The Westminster Schools of Atlanta, the Rabun Gap Nacoochee School, the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation, and the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation.
‘Love and Logic’ Initial Meeting Friday, November 3rd Debbie Engle Currently serving as the PreK 4B teacher at Veritas this school year, Debbie is already making a tremendous impact in the lives of our students. Debbie is a graduate of Illinois State University, earning a B.S. in Special Education. She has extensive experience in education including teaching students ranging from early childhood to collegiate levels. She has also spoken at various conferences and churches regarding the inclusion of special needs students. Debbie is an independent facilitator of ‘Love and Logic’ and loves to equip parents to help their children become respectful and responsible young people and adults.
Classical Works of Education
The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto by Mortimer J. Adler
Norms & Nobility by David V. Hicks
Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. and Andrew Kern
Early Education Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Book Recommendations for Students Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The War for Independence by Albert Marrin
The Complete Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton
Lower School The Beatrix Potter Collection by Beatrix Potter
Middle School Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Early Education The Calm and Happy Toddler by Dr. Rebecca Chicot
Book Recommendations for Parents Raising Great Kids by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, M. Ed with Lisa M. Ross
Why Gender Matters by Dr. Leonard Sax
Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
Teach Your Children Well by Dr. Madeline Levine
The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch
Lower School Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids! by Scott Truanski and Joanne Miller
Middle School Planet Middle School by Dr. Kevin Leman
Ten Resolutions for Becoming a More Grateful Parent by Madeline Levine, Ph. D. I will not do for my child what he can do for himself. This kills motivation and the ability to innovate. Both are missing from too many young people in today’s workforce.
I will not do for my child what she can almost do for herself. At one time your child could almost walk. Now she can walk. Enough said.
I will honor the importance of PDF (Playtime, Downtime, and Family Time). Don’t overschedule. Kids need time to play, daydream, and just hang out. It’s in these precious “between” times that crucial development tasks are accomplished.
I will remember that I am a parent, not a CEO. Results are down the line, not at the end of the quarter. This means the occasional “B” or “C” will not break your child’s future prospects. Stop catastrophizing. You won’t see the final fruits of your parenting until your child is grown and gone.
I will not confuse my needs with my child’s needs. This is the most toxic manifestation of overparenting. Get a hobby or a therapist instead.
I will make sure my child gets a full night’s sleep. Kids need between nine and eleven hours a night. Sleep deprivation impairs concentration, memory, and the ability to accurately read emotional cues. It makes kids crabby and compromises their ability to learn.
I will remember the success trajectory is a squiggle...not a straight line. Few of us become successful by simply putting one foot in front of the other. Most of us encounter a multitude of twists, turns, direction changes, and stops on the way to our goals.
I will value my own (adult) life. I will love the child in front of me. Appreciate and be thankful for your child’s unique gifts. Children are talented in a multitude of different ways. See your child’s particular talents clearly.
Being a happy, fulfilled, and yes, grateful adult makes you a better parent. It’s one of the best gifts you can give your child. It makes adulthood look like something worth striving for. I will not push my child to be perfect. Besides genetics, perfectionism is the strongest predictor of clinical depression. Life is full of mistakes, imperfect days, and human failings. Kids need to learn how to cope with these inevitabilities. They (and you) need to be able to feel happiness and gratitude in the face of imperfection.
This list of resolutions originally appeared in Dr. Madeline Levine’s blog on the Challenge Success website. It is reprinted here with the permission of the author. Madeline Levine is a pyschologist with close to 30 years experience as a clinician, consultant, educator, and author. She has authored four books including The New York Times bestseller Teach Your Children Well (included in this year’s book recommendations). She is a cofounder of Challenge Success, a project of the Stanford Graduate School of Education.
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Autumn Thoughts is an annual publication from Veritas Christian Academy that provides parents with education information from our expert staff and faculty providing parents with information about education.