|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Hater Depot
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
|
 Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:51 pm Post subject: Kids burn out despite their energy |
 |
|
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/08/30/overscheduled.kids/index.html
| Quote: |
It's graduation day at VT's American Freestyle Karate school in Marietta, Georgia, and the studio's junior instructor, Austin Leake, impresses students and parents with a perfectly executed flying sidekick.
Austin, who is working toward his second-degree black belt, balances training with hours of gymnastics and other activities that would exhaust many adults. But Austin is only 12.
Like many kids around the country, Austin is back in school now, juggling homework and extracurricular activities. In addition, Austin's grandfather Jack Leake picks him up from school four afternoons a week and drives him across town for practice.
How does Austin find time to get straight A's?
"I do most of my homework in the car when we're driving to practice. And whatever I have left, I do when I get home," he said.
Austin has tremendous energy and can manage many activities and do them well. But not all children are like this.
"There are some kids who become stressed when they expect themselves to perform at that level," said Dr. David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University.
Chronic stress can have severe consequences for children and adults, according to Dr. Kate Cronan, medical editor for KidsHealth.org. It can cause people to lose sleep, eat poorly, become irritable and fall behind at school or work.
Forty-one percent of 882 children ages 9-13 surveyed in a recent KidsHealth poll said they feel stressed either most of the time or always because they have too much to do. And more than three-quarters of those surveyed said that they wished they had more free time.
Even Austin, who is comfortable with his packed schedule, said he wishes he had more time to "just hang out and play video games or read."
Overscheduling is a growing problem for American families, according to Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld, author of "The Over-scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap."
"A cultural phenomenon is taking place where parents are being told that the right way to raise their kids is to involve them in every enrichment opportunity possible, even if it means leaving the entire family feeling anxious and stressed," he said.
"The notion that education is a race has become quite prevalent and part of the conventional wisdom," said Elkind of Tufts University. And this race begins at infancy. Videos and software designed to give kids as young as six-months-old a leg up on the competition are being sold at toy stores around the country.
Experts suggest considering the motivations behind scheduling multiple enrichment opportunities for kids. Is it because the activities are enjoyable or is the sole purpose to give kids a competitive edge? Rosenfeld advises parents to "weigh the benefits of participation against the cost -- time, energy, logistical effort, stress and expense -- to you, your child and the rest of your family." |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
captain kirk
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
Wouldn't be surprised. I don't think it's great to book kids for activities and crank out performance from them.
I went up a mountain today and met a student from the haggie who said, 'teacher!'. He's 12, about four feet tall, and hadn't even broken a sweat (he'd just come up the 300 meters or whatever it is directly up, some of it stair clamped to a cliff). Up there with his Mom and Dad.
Lithe, and hadn't even broken a sweat!!!!!Low to the ground, young joints, light, supple, kids are fantastic hikers. Make it look like play, like skipping. It's then I appreciate they're not just short, but endurance packed sherpas.
The adults rigourously make hiking look like work by comparison, something heroic. To kids it's just moving play. Amazing....I got him to carry my one hundred pound pack. Couldn't lift it, but dragged it like a lead Husky.... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
