InnerSelf

Self-mutilation is a big problem facing teens today. This affliction is the result of fear instilled by trauma. It is as though the brain contains a computer chip, which has been programmed, because of trauma, to self-mutilate. It is a mental trap that has taken innumerable young people hostage...

by Jim Taylor, Ph.D. You can provide your child with several essential ingredients for gaining independence. You must give your child love and respect. These expressions give her the sense of security that allows her to explore and take risks. You must show confidence...

by Susan Gingras Fitzell.

It is possible to eliminate war and destruction, if we start with our youth, educating them to understand the conditioning that teaches them to hate those different from themselves. If we teach our children to understand the barriers to peace and the skills to resolve conflict, we have invested in our future. We've invested in a peaceful world. We need to start somewhere. We can begin in our homes and our schools. Plant the seed, nurture it and watch it grow.

How you ask your children to listen, and what you choose to see in them will help determine their response to you. Don't allow your ego to make you feel guilty for not doing it perfectly. The myth of the perfect parent is as much a myth as that of the perfect child. What we need to stop thinking is that the monumental task of parenting and educating our children is solely in our hands. It isn't. It's a joint venture, a sacred trust between ourselves, our children, and God.

by Diane and Julia Loomans.

The desire to make a dream come true has been a part of cultures throughout history. The ancient Peruvians drew their goals in symbols. The Egyptians created elaborate rituals to move from desire to actualization. Here are a few simple steps to follow to help set goals successfully...

by Alfie Kohn. The interesting question is whether those of us who were successful students achieved this success by memorizing an enormous number of words without necessarily understanding them or caring about them. Might we have spent a good chunk of our childhoods doing stuff that was exactly as pointless as we suspected it was at the time?

by Alina Guiterrez. The most important job a person can have is to teach another. Educators have a great responsibility toward those they teach, because everything they do and say has a lifelong impact upon their students. For this reason, it is very important that the children and youth be empowered by allowing them to make their own decisions...

by Francesca Cappucci Fordyce. Parents, single or not, might consider co-sharing, i.e. families helping each other out. The theory behind co-sharing works in principle like the adage "it takes a village to raise a child". Co-sharing gives single mothers more time because they are sharing the responsibilities. The guilt of not having enough and not being around...

by Alfie Kohn.

A look at the requirements of a good classroom - the good signs and the not so good signs. From furniture, to posters on walls, students' attitudes, teacher attitude, noise level, class discussions, and more. Gives good things to look for as well as things to watch out for.

by Phil Laut. Every generation of parents dreams, works, and saves so that their children experience greater personal prosperity than they. Until the last few years, the steady advances in purchasing power of the average American has made this dream attainable by most. Nevertheless, financial instruction continues to be neglected in school systems and in most families. Perhaps for the first time in American history, better money attitudes and management skills will be required curriculum for the next generation.

by Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D. A child will learn ethical philosophy by observing how you treat others around you. Severity is sometimes necessary, mercy is sometimes necessary, and mildness is sometimes necessary. Use your head. Think things out before overreacting to situations. Do not moralize with the child. Speak of actions and behaviors in terms of real consequences.

by Francesca Cappucci Fordyce. Parenting is the most difficult job there is because of the immense responsibility of shaping another human being. A child's character and inner structure are like putty in the hands of his parents. Parents hold the power to shape and mold a child's vulnerable constitution. With such big stakes...

by Dr. Brenda Davies.

Don't be hard on yourself or anyone else, but see that some of these games have been handed down for centuries like family heirlooms. Every one of them can be righted, and often the first major step is to recognize them and refuse to...

by Montel Williams and Jeffrey Gardère, Ph.D.

Despite all of the hours you will spend in conference with professional educators in the years ahead, never lose sight of the fact that you are your children's most important teacher. You are their first line of attack and their last line of defense against indifference and routine in your neighborhood schools.

by John Taylor Gatto.

Two institutions at present control our children's lives: television and schooling, in that order. In centuries past, the time of childhood and adolescence would have been occupied in real work, real charity, real adventures, and the realistic search for mentors who might teach what you really wanted to learn.

by Daisaku Ikeda.

Our youth, to whom we will entrust the twenty-first century, look upon neither their future nor their world with bright hope. This is why I feel compelled to discuss the problems of our youth, particularly in the advanced industrialized nations...