We want to express our gratitude to parents
for the support and understanding given to us for the past 2 months to help the
school control the spread of HFMD. We
would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to parents during this
period of scrutiny and we trust that all children will now have a better and
safer place of learning.
The school will be holding its Annual
Family Day cum Mother Day celebration on 28th April 2012, Saturday,
8 a.m. at KK High School Multi-Purpose Hall. However, for safety reason, our
Pre-Junior children will not participate in this event. We have also
lined up a list of telematches for the children, parents with children and
parents with teachers. We would like to urge all parents to mark your calendar
and avail yourselves for the above event.
Today,
there is wide recognition that many of our children are not learning to act
responsibly while they are young. Studies show that many children see nothing
wrong with cheating on tests. Some see nothing wrong with taking things that
don't belong to them.
Our
children deserve to learn important lessons from us and to acquire important
habits with our help. They need help in learning what matters to us. We want
our children to grow up to be responsible adults. We want them to learn to
feel, think, and act with respect for themselves and for other people. We want
them to pursue their own well-being, while also being considerate of the needs
and feelings of others.
If
proper attitudes and behavior are not learned early, problems can mushroom with
even worse consequences when children are older. As parents, we can give our
children the best in us by helping them acquire habits and character traits
that they can rely on in their own lives. If we help them learn to take
pleasure in thinking and behaving well, they will have the best chance to lead
good lives as individuals and as citizens in the community. This will be true
no matter what unpleasant situations or bad influences they come across.
Helping Your Child Learn Responsible Behavior - Edited by Theodor Rebarber
None of us is born
acting responsibly. A responsible character is formed over time. It is made up
of our outlook and daily habits associated with feelings, thoughts, and
actions. Responsible people act the way they should whether or not anyone is
watching. They do so because they understand that it's right and because they
have the courage and self-control to act decently, even when tempted to do
otherwise.
We want our children
to appreciate the importance of being responsible. We also want them to develop
the habits and strength to act this way in their everyday lives. Learning to be
responsible includes learning to:
·
respect
and show compassion for others;
· practice honesty as a matter of course;
·
show courage in standing up for our
principles;
·
develop
self-control in acting on our principles;
·
maintain
self-respect.
Respect
and Compassion for Others
As part of being
responsible, children need to respect and show concern for the well-being of
other people. Respect ranges from using basic manners to having compassion for
the suffering of others. Compassion is developed by trying to see things from
the point of view of others, and learning that their feelings resemble our own.
Respect for others
also includes the habit of treating people fairly as individuals, regardless of
race, sex, or ethnic group. As we mature, respect includes realizing that not
all our obligations to others, such as caring for a family member who is sick,
are chosen freely. And it includes tolerance for people who do not share our
beliefs or likes or dislikes, as long as they do not harm others.
These habits are
especially important because many of the wrongs people commit result from
indifference to the suffering they cause.
Honesty
Honesty means
telling the truth. It means not misleading others for our own benefit. It also
means trying to make decisions, especially important ones, on the basis of
evidence rather than prejudice. Honesty includes dealing with other people and
being honest with ourselves.
To understand the
importance of being truthful to others, our children need to learn that living
together depends on trust. Without honesty, trusting each other becomes
impossible. Honesty with ourselves involves faring up to our own mistakes and
biases, even when we have to admit them to others. It includes self-criticism.
The point is to learn from our errors and to do our best to correct them, not
to dwell on them.
Courage
Courage is taking a
position and doing what is right, even at the risk of some loss. It means being
neither reckless nor cowardly, but faring up to our duties. It includes
physical courage, intellectual courage to make decisions on the basis of
evidence, and moral courage to stand up for our principles.
Courage does not
mean never being afraid. It can involve trying to overcome our fears, such as a
fear of the dark. But our children also need to learn that sometimes it is all
right to be afraid.
Courage becomes
especially important by the time children become teenagers. They often have to
stand up against peer pressure to do the wrong thing, such as using drugs.
Self-Control
Self-control is the
ability to resist inappropriate behavior in order to act responsibly. It
relates to all of the different aspects of responsibility mentioned so far,
including respect and compassion for others, honesty, and courage. It involves
persistence and sticking to long-term commitments. It also includes dealing
effectively with emotions, such as anger, and developing patience.
Self-Respect
People with
self-respect take satisfaction in appropriate behavior and hard-won
accomplishments. They don't need to put others down or have a lot of money in
order to respect themselves. People who respect themselves also view
selfishness, loss of self-control, recklessness, cowardice, and dishonesty as
wrong and unworthy of them. As they mature, if they have learned the lessons of
responsibility, they will develop a good conscience to guide them.
In addition, people
who respect themselves respect their own health and safety. Similarly, they are
unwilling to be manipulated by others. Patience or tolerance does not mean allowing
others to mistreat us.
While we help
children have high standards for themselves, we also need to let them know that
failure is no embarrassment when we have done our best. For example, losing a
game when we have played our best, and our opponents have simply played better,
is no disgrace.
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