Things to celebrate...
Over these past two weeks, students have been working very hard to understand, showcase, and celebrate their use of the creative process to devise original stories, characters, and material. From the senior students' work as part of the Quest conference's Artonomy series (photos below) to the junior students' work in improvisation, we have been intentionally working on strengthening our critical and creative thinking skills through inquiry-based games, activities, and workshops.
Things to look forward to...
Our junior and senior drama students will be wrapping up their current units this week as they prepare for final performances (to be completed in class this Thursday and Friday) and unit reflections (due next Monday). Weekly reflection due dates have been changed to Mondays in order to accommodate students who may require additional processing time to reflect on and process the learning completed throughout the week.
Things to do at home...
Perfectionism is becoming an increasing issue for students, and one that is increasingly apparent as junior students learn the skills for improvisation and senior students continue to work collaboratively in their small ensembles. Perfectionism can contribute to mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression, which may already be presenting themselves now or which may lie in wait for students' first independent challenges in post-secondary or on the job. Perfectionism is one of the most pernicious enemies of progress--academically, socially, and professionally.
Encouraging students to always do their very best is an excellent way to help support your child's success. When students internalize messages about achievement and high expectations as expectations of perfection, however, this can often backfire and sabotage students' ability to succeed in tasks requiring process work, intentional skill-building, critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and adaptability. An emphasis on always getting things right the first time, or on achieving perfection, could actually hinder students' abilities to learn, grown, and achieve at their highest level, by creating conditions that lead to anxiety, depression, procrastination, and a decrease in intrinsic motivation and engagement. As parents, guardians, and caring adults, we should consider how our words and actions communicate our expectations to children, being careful not to set up conditions of approval based solely on perfection, which will allow us to better support them to reach their full potential in a wide range of modern learning skills.
Encouraging students to always do their very best is an excellent way to help support your child's success. When students internalize messages about achievement and high expectations as expectations of perfection, however, this can often backfire and sabotage students' ability to succeed in tasks requiring process work, intentional skill-building, critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and adaptability. An emphasis on always getting things right the first time, or on achieving perfection, could actually hinder students' abilities to learn, grown, and achieve at their highest level, by creating conditions that lead to anxiety, depression, procrastination, and a decrease in intrinsic motivation and engagement. As parents, guardians, and caring adults, we should consider how our words and actions communicate our expectations to children, being careful not to set up conditions of approval based solely on perfection, which will allow us to better support them to reach their full potential in a wide range of modern learning skills.
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