We have had an interesting day. After school my daughter got a call from her friend. Clearly distraught, she told my daughter that someone had broken into her house and they were still there. After calming her down and staying on the phone until her mother arrived we called 911. (we couldn't confirm whether or not the mother had already called).
After having a sick day at home I quickly got some jeans on and took my daughter to be with her friend while the RCMP investigated. As I listened to interviews being conducted and neighbors asking what happened it was interesting to me that even in a real emergency situation, both my daughters friend and her older brother did not think or know to call 911 FIRST before calling the parents.
After the investigation was finished we brought the friend over to our house to spend the night. The little girls dad was grateful that her daughter could go somewhere to take her mind off of what has just happened.
While chatting with one of the officers , the officer said something that really stuck with me. He said that although it sucks that there were things stolen out of the house, the worst part is that this family no longer feels safe in a place that is supposed to be safe.
When you think about where you live.. the street... your living room... maybe even your bedroom... it is a place that is supposed to be your haven.. your place of rest from the outside world. When that place has been invaded.. the trust you have in your home to keep you safe... how do you get that back? Can this family ever have peace again or are they always going to wonder if something worse is going to happen?
As my daughter and I were chatting on the way home we both concluded that the fear that her friend must have felt walking into a house that still had the thief inside would be more than terrifying. It really makes me think about my own personal safety. I have to remind myself that something like this is always possible but that I cannot and will not live in fear.
If you or someone you know is interested in crime prevention strategies both for your home and neighborhood there are a few resources out there that can help. There is Neighborhood Watch in Red Deer. Also a friend of mine (Steve) does security consulting. You can visit his website at www.targetcrime.ca.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Boy vs School
I have a son. He's in elementary school. For the 3rd year in a row he has gotten a female teacher over the age of 45. I'm getting a little tired of older, female teachers that want their students to sit down, be quiet and read their text books. In grade 2 my son's teacher suggested that I take my son to the doctors so perhaps the doctor could give him something to help in focus in her class. WHAT!?!!
My son is your average 9 year old boy. He has lots of energy and most of the time you have to tell him more than once to do anything. He can be a little scatter brained at times. He is very loving, has wonderful manners and is more creative than most other kids I know. He loves science, building lego, star wars and playing outside with his friends. He finds school boring. I feel like everyday he hates school a little more.
I just finished a book called "The Power of Focus" By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Les Hewitt. In Chapter 2 they talk about the need for focus and on page 34 it reads " Top performers spend very little time on their weaknesses. Many of our school systems could learn from this. Often, children are told to focus on their weaker subjects and not spend so much time on the ones they do well in. The rationale is to develop a broad level of competency in many subjects instead of focusing on a few. WRONG! As business coach Dan Sullivan says "If you spend too much time working on your weaknesses, all you end up with is a lot of strong weaknesses!" This does not give you a competitive edge in the marketplace or position you to be wealthy. It just keeps you average. In fact, it's an absolute insult to your integrity to major in minor things". Well said.
I have a friend Kathy who made the decision to pull her 2 boys out of public school and home school them. Her reason is that she believes that each of her boys have talents and abilities and that will take them down a road to success. By making them study subjects they have no interest in and are not going to take them down a career path based on their strengths that they are wasting their time and their sons talents. Time that could instead be spent developing those better suited skills.
Now I have to say that I do think it's important to learn a little about a lot of different areas. How will you know what you are interested in if you don't?? How will you know about the world and our history? I am confident that based on my sons personality type, his interests and talents, that being a doctor or engineer isn't in the cards for him. I believe he will end up in emergency services or perhaps a trade. Both honorable professions.
I get angry every time I think about my son and school. I'm not at the stage yet that I would entertain the idea of home schooling, but I strongly believe that we are raising an entire generation of kids that are being let down by a "girl focused" education system and no matter how loud we scream, no body is listening.
A friend of mine commented this past week that there is a certain personality type that exists in our schools. These kids (boys and girls)have lots of energy and are the future movers, shakers and visionaries and adults are afraid of them. Instead of nurturing them, we are medicating them at a staggering rate. All to get them to be quiet. WOW!
I just want the best for my son. I want to know that when he goes to school that he is being encouraged, positively reinforced and appreciated for what he brings to his class and school community. Is that really too much to ask?
My son is your average 9 year old boy. He has lots of energy and most of the time you have to tell him more than once to do anything. He can be a little scatter brained at times. He is very loving, has wonderful manners and is more creative than most other kids I know. He loves science, building lego, star wars and playing outside with his friends. He finds school boring. I feel like everyday he hates school a little more.
I just finished a book called "The Power of Focus" By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Les Hewitt. In Chapter 2 they talk about the need for focus and on page 34 it reads " Top performers spend very little time on their weaknesses. Many of our school systems could learn from this. Often, children are told to focus on their weaker subjects and not spend so much time on the ones they do well in. The rationale is to develop a broad level of competency in many subjects instead of focusing on a few. WRONG! As business coach Dan Sullivan says "If you spend too much time working on your weaknesses, all you end up with is a lot of strong weaknesses!" This does not give you a competitive edge in the marketplace or position you to be wealthy. It just keeps you average. In fact, it's an absolute insult to your integrity to major in minor things". Well said.
I have a friend Kathy who made the decision to pull her 2 boys out of public school and home school them. Her reason is that she believes that each of her boys have talents and abilities and that will take them down a road to success. By making them study subjects they have no interest in and are not going to take them down a career path based on their strengths that they are wasting their time and their sons talents. Time that could instead be spent developing those better suited skills.
Now I have to say that I do think it's important to learn a little about a lot of different areas. How will you know what you are interested in if you don't?? How will you know about the world and our history? I am confident that based on my sons personality type, his interests and talents, that being a doctor or engineer isn't in the cards for him. I believe he will end up in emergency services or perhaps a trade. Both honorable professions.
I get angry every time I think about my son and school. I'm not at the stage yet that I would entertain the idea of home schooling, but I strongly believe that we are raising an entire generation of kids that are being let down by a "girl focused" education system and no matter how loud we scream, no body is listening.
A friend of mine commented this past week that there is a certain personality type that exists in our schools. These kids (boys and girls)have lots of energy and are the future movers, shakers and visionaries and adults are afraid of them. Instead of nurturing them, we are medicating them at a staggering rate. All to get them to be quiet. WOW!
I just want the best for my son. I want to know that when he goes to school that he is being encouraged, positively reinforced and appreciated for what he brings to his class and school community. Is that really too much to ask?
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