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Responsibilities Give Kids a Sense of Meaning and Importance
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | May 20, 2009
One of the course assignments is about creating a list of jobs for kids. There are many great ideas generated here because my students, and the kids they work with, are so diverse. In addition to sharing their ideas though, students all describe the advantages of giving kids jobs.
For example:
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Describing a kid recovering from surgery, “jobs help him feel like he is participating even if he cannot do any of the games the other kids.”
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In a description of a very active kid: “Having a job gives her a purpose and makes her feel special without acting out. I give her little jobs to make her feel responsible.”
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Working with students in the garden, I … “create jobs for them to do together. I try to give a few instructions, and assign initial jobs, then step back and watch as they work together to accomplish a task. …working together to solve a problem, kids learn a transferable skill they will need in the future.”
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“It is always interesting to see the social dynamics at work when kids set upon a task, and how they modify their actions to best do the work.
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“Jobs can be exciting, and get kids moving around, getting some of that energy out in constructive ways. Kids with jobs feel like they have a responsibility which is important I think for them. This then makes them feel motivated, and gives them a feeling of wanting to please.”
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Lately, I have been reading about what it was like growing up during the Great Depression. One of the things that strike me about descriptions of these very hard times is that because families and the community depended on all their members, people felt a sense of purpose and connection. Each of them was important for the good of the whole. My students’ comments this week reinforce this idea. Give kids responsibilities; help them find ways to help others, in the classroom, at home and in the community. It makes a positive difference (in these very difficult times too) – and, as I like to say, everybody benefits.
What are the jobs that you assign in your classrooms or programs? How do you involve the kids you work with in the community, classroom and program? What jobs work? What did you like to do that made you feel important, or capable or happy?
Submit your comments below. Thanks
Topics: How to Help, Questions, Relationship Strategy |