When looking to improve the educational experience of our children, we often search for the perfect curriculum, ideal program, or most dynamic teacher. We spend a lot of time seeking the best solution to grow our children academically, but what if the key to educational success lies in the most easily accessible place of all: home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is at home where children build deep connection with the adults who care for them the most. \u201cParents at home have the singular opportunity to watch how children make sense of their world, how they attack a puzzling situation\u2014in short, how they learn. This allows the adult to be a learner, too,\u201d writes Clonlara School Founder Pat Montgomery about the educational bond between parent and child<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home is where children first begin to develop emotional competencies such as self-esteem, identity, self-confidence, empathy, collaboration, and interconnection. \u201cWe think these skills are taught and learned in schools,\u201d explains Clonlara\u2019s Spanish Program<\/a> Assistant Director Ang\u00e9lica Pineda Franky, \u201cbut they are taught and learned in our families.\u201d She describes the family as a \u201ccreative place,\u201d a \u201clearning environment\u201d where parents impart to their children life, protection, and strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Neufeld Institute<\/a>, a family\u2019s development of their children\u2019s emotional proficiencies may be the most important factor in cultivating their cognitive development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a panel discussion on home education<\/a>, child development counselor and author Deborah MacNamara underscored this idea. \u201cNeuroscientists will tell you emotional development is as sophisticated as cognitive development,\u201d she said. \u201cIn fact, cognitive development is predicated on the development of the emotional system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When children possess curiosity, a sense of agency, and the ability to learn from mistakes and process dissonance, they also possess what Gordon Neufeld describes as the \u201cteachability factor<\/a>.\u201d Yet, traditional education systems often emphasize academic\/cognitive growth over emotional maturation and make teaching more difficult by not focusing on the socioemotional skills children need to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her private counseling practice, MacNamara notes that \u201canxiety kind of dried up as the dominate concern\u201d for children upon their extended stays at home during the pandemic. Emotional health improved when children and teens had more space for relationship and emotional expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A study of two schools<\/a> in Australia during COVID lockdowns aligns with the experience of MacNamara\u2019s clients. Students\u2019 anxiety dropped when at home, and they displayed creative, adaptive ways of learning even through the educational constraints imposed on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, at home with the adults who care deepest for them, some students flourished during the pandemic. \u201cSchools don\u2019t have the luxury of sitting down with each and every student to identify their interests and curiosities or [learning] barriers,\u201d Neufeld explains<\/a>. \u201cWhere can the best pedagogy be delivered? Home!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, many families face uncertainty and stress in the home environment that can impact students\u2019 academic and emotional growth, and schools can play an important role in promoting well-being and cognitive development. Many schools recognize this crucial need and formally implement social and emotional learning (SEL)<\/a>, and various organizations<\/a> exist to ensure all students have access to such programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For students in unstable homes who lack meaningful connection with family members or other caring adults, SEL programs in schools may help to foster the important socioemotional relationships that lead to positive growth and development. Calls to get children back in schools for their social and emotional health after extended pandemic closures often cited concern for children in these unfortunate conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When schools reinforce the sense of connection children build at home, they boost students\u2019 self-confidence, feelings of security, and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEmotional Development as a Precursor to Cognitive Development<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Paradox of the Pandemic<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Social-Emotional Education in Schools<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Parents and Schools as Partners<\/h4>\n\n\n\n