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What do parents want for their children more than anything else? Recently, 5,550 parents from 16 countries were asked this question. The results showed that parents hoped that their children would experience happiness, good health, financial security, career success, and fulfillment of their potential. If we want our children to realize these outcomes, what we need to teach them more than anything else is clarity and focus. |
I recognize that this may be an unexpected answer. There are many qualities and strategies that are mentioned more prominently in the literature related to children’s success in school and life. So, why do I propose clarity and focus? Because, I believe that clarity and focus establish the foundation for everything else that we want for our children. |
What do we mean by clarity and focus?
• Clarity is the perception of our experience with a minimum of preconceptions, emotional and cognitive distractions, and judgments, so that we are fully present and open to possibilities.
• Focus is sustained attention where we intentionally direct it.
These qualities are fundamental to successful outcomes because our state of mind determines our motivation, how we engage our curiosity, apply cognitive strategies, and activate social and emotional knowledge and executive skills to accomplish the things that help us fulfill our goals.
Without clarity and focus, our children’s minds are not fully engaged in the task at hand and their perceptions tend to be channeled into previously established mental ruts. Without clarity and focus, children are less likely to recognize the rich assortment of information and possibilities available, thereby limiting their perceptivity, creativity, and adaptability, all of which are qualities associated with successful performance, achievement of potential, and contentment.
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| 1. Building Self—As Socrates suggested, our highest priority is to “know thyself.” For students to achieve clarity and focus, they must understand themselves. At Benchmark we help students understand who they are; who they can become; the factors that shape their thoughts, feelings, and actions; the qualities that facilitate successful outcomes and those that impede successful outcomes; how they are connected to the wider world; and how to take control of their thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to achieve their goals and flourish.
2. Building Community—Humans are social beings who find strength, joy, and comfort in harmonious communities. Learning to collaborate, cooperate, and form meaningful relationships are keys to functioning successfully. At Benchmark, we help students develop clarity and awareness that others have their own thoughts, feelings, and motives that must be understood and appreciated for successful interactions.
3. Building a Systems Orientation—We help students prepare to meet complex challenges by developing a systems–orientation: seeing the world as a network of related moments that reflect the influence of interdependent elements. They learn to approach a problem by understanding the elements that cause it. Then, they suggest actions to change the way the elements interact so that they no longer create feedback loops that cause the problem. Systems-thinking introduces greater complexity, but, it also presents greater clarity about how the world works, leading to a deeper understanding of issues and more meaningful and productive actions.
We have lofty goals for our students and we want to give them the tools to attain those goals. That is why clarity and focus are at the heart of all we do at Benchmark School.
BenchmarkSchool.org
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| Great futures begin at Benchmark School, an internationally-recognized leader in teaching bright children who learn differently or have yet to reach their full potential. Benchmark is intentionally designed as a 1st through 8th grade experience that prepares students to return to and excel in competitive independent, parochial, and public high schools and flourish in college, careers, and life.
Receiving schools and alumni share that Benchmark graduates thrive because: they know who they are as learners and individuals, they are self-advocates, they know how to approach tasks flexibly and think strategically, and they are persistent and resilient.
To learn more about Benchmark School and its ever-evolving, research-based instructional program that has been changing the trajectory of students’ lives for nearly 50 years, visit BenchmarkSchool.org
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| How do you help children become adaptable, empathetic, and resilient problem solvers?
FAILING FORWARD: Using the Entrepreneurial Mindset to Build Resilience, Discover New Opportunities, and Create Meaningful Change in the World
Featuring ED GLASSMAN, Executive Director of The Sands Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
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Join us for a discussion of how the core elements of the "entrepreneurial mindset" can be practiced within schools and encouraged at home. In many ways, entrepreneurship and its appreciation of failure as a productive and necessary part of the learning process runs counter to traditional academic achievement. However, the entrepreneurial mindset can help students achieve great success in the classroom and beyond. Providing evidence of student outcomes, Ed Glassman will demonstrate how we can guide students to become comfortable with complexity as well as adaptable, empathetic, and resilient problem solvers ready to shape the future.
Tuesday, March 21 | 7:30-8:30 PM | Benchmark School
This event is FREE and open to the public. Register here.
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Register here for an Admissions Open House or call Linda Lattif
at 610-565-3741 to arrange a private visit.
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