“How was school today?” “Okay.”
The right way to get better answers from your back-to-schooler
A lot goes on for your child during the first days of school, and you’d probably like to hear about it. But ask your child how school is and you’ll get the answer: “Okay”.
Good news. You can get better and more useful answers by asking better questions. Just make two changes.
One, ask questions that can’t be answered with one word. Don’t ask, “How was school?” Ask, “How was school different from last year?” Don’t ask, “Do you like your teacher?” Ask, “What’s the most interesting thing she said about what’s coming?”
Two, ask questions that allow your child to express his or her concerns. But don’t ask in a negative way; that’s likely to end the conversation. “Describe your daily schedule for me.” “Was there anything you wished you had at school today that you didn’t?”
Learn more about open-ended questioning here.
Bradford middle schoolers look into their futures
Camp iAM introduces them to professions and local people’s stories
Those doors are still closed for lots of kids, so Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds was pleased to partner with the Westerly Public Schools to bring “Camp iAM” to some of them this summer.Other than “astronaut”, “firefighter”, and “doctor”, few of us knew what we wanted to be when we grew up. In fact, few of us were even exposed to the bigger world and its opportunities.
In its first year, Camp iAM introduced several Bradford (Westerly) middle schoolers to hear local people explain their backgrounds and careers.
“It’s great for students to see that at any age, they can take what they love and do it for the rest of their life or for a small part of their life, and then do something else that they love,” Brenda Holmes told The Westerly Sun. Holmes, a teacher at Westerly Middle School, helped lead and organize the camp, whose curriculum was based on one developed by Barrington’s Youth Substance Abuse Task Force.
Brooke Constance White of The Westerly Sun wrote an excellent article about Camp iAM, and included several photographs, like the one shown here.