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Miss
Foley's letter
Introduction
Commandment
1
Commandment 2
Commandment 3
Commandment 4
Commandment 5
Commandment 6
Commandment 7
Commandment 8
Commandment 9
A Parting Word
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Dear Mr.
and Mrs. _____________,
You asked me at Open House whether there was anything you
could
do to help your children improve their communication skills--that
is, their reading and writing, listening and talking. You are
squarely on the side of the angels in your feeling that this is a phase
of growing up that the home and school must tackle together.
As a
matter of fact, the angels with doctor's degrees tell us that you, more
than the school, hold the trump cards in determining whether your
children will lead dull, skimpy lives or full, happy ones. In this
letter I hope to suggest some ways you can play those trumps to work in
harmony with the guidance we are giving in school.
Can you remember the last time that you were aware that your
children were working on their hobbies, discussing plans for a party,
writing to a friend or relative, reporting on a movie, going voluntarily
to the Public Library for books, watching a newscast on television, or
just plain hamming around the house to make you laugh? If the
answer is "Yesterday!" to at least one of these activities, take a deep
bow. Your youngsters are already alive and kicking, and "in
communication". It speaks worlds for you and the kind of home
you're keeping.
But perhaps you can do more (as my supervisors always end up
telling me after they have praised me!). Think of yourself for a
minute. Think back on the last time you
took the family on a trip,
presided over a squabble among the kids,
told a joke,
snapped on TV,
subscribed for another magazine, or left a note of firm instructions to
your slow-to-do-his-chores child. Did you take advantage of the
golden opportunities these ordinary household situations offered to
improve communications, the skills of living together? Granted
that you have a few other things to do besides playing games with your
children. The question is: Doesn't everything we do in
relation to each other, whether work or play, offer opportunities to
take in and give out ideas, which is another way of stating what
language or communication is all about?
Ten commandments
have obviously been too many for some folks, so lets limit to nine the
big things we should work for--with more attention on the "do's" than
the "don'ts", which is a good practice in any kind of persuasion.
BROADEN THE INTERESTS OF YOUR CHILDREN.
INCREASE
YOUR CHILD'S USE OF HIS SENSES AND POWERS OF OBSERVATION.
SEE THAT
YOUR CHILDREN HAVE AN IMPORTANT PART IN FAMILY PLANNING AND THE
CARRYING OUT OF PLANS.
MAKE
READING---ORAL AND SILENT---A BUILT IN ART OF THE DAILY LIFE OF YOUR
CHILDREN.
HELP FIND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYDAY USE OF WRITING.
MAKE
TELEVISION WORK FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND FAMILY LIFE.
BE THE BEST
MODEL YOU CAN---IN MANNERS, INTEREST, AND GOOD USE OF LANGUAGE.
ENCOURAGE
YOUR CHILD IN THE HABIT OF CHECKING ON HIS OWN COMMUNICATION SKILLS.
TRY TO KEEP
UP WITH THE NEW APPROACHES TO LEARNING WHICH YOUR CHILD IS
EXPERIENCING IN SCHOOL.
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