Kids who are involved get more done

Let’s face it, when given the opportunity to choose between hard work and hardly working, most of us will choose the latter. Yes, we know that we should always work to our maximum potential. But we often choose to strive for “good enough.”

Students are no exception. If we allow them plenty of idle time, they will idle.

This submission was supposed to be penned by eighth-grade students in my English 1 class at Wasilla Middle School. We spent time pouring over examples of Chalk Talk pieces, dissecting them for elements of ethos, pathos and logos, before I cut them loose to write a piece of their very own choosing.

And choose they did. Almost every piece I received was along the topic of how students shouldn’t have homework, have to study, or have to put forth effort.

I was crushed. Somewhere in the range of feelings between nausea and disappointment, I considered the composition of this particular group of kids. Theirs is a credit opportunity to get a jumpstart on high school. They are talented writers, skillful readers, and analytical thinkers.

But not entirely because of their own free will.

Their free will would have them spending their days in the likes of playing video games and floating through the nexus of Instagram and YouTube. I’m not making that up. This same group of learners reported that they totally “wasted” their spring break in just such a manner and (save the likes of the one who volunteered with her mom at a local VFW) “contributed in no manner to the betterment of humanity.”

No, these students are advanced learners, but they are still kids. They are still largely motivated by external factors, which in their case is most frequently the high expectations of their parents.

And that’s not a bad thing. It is a reminder that as parents we have the responsibility of defining, and modeling, for our children what hard work looks like, why it is important, and finding opportunities for them to learn to persevere.

Consider the recital. Sonja’s Studio of Dance had its annual spring recital on May 4. I’ve attended them for the past four years now, enjoying the showcase of our talented Valley students.

The pride that radiates through those kids is the culminating effect of working really hard and doing well. But what strikes me is that those same kids that spend night after night practicing for a performance are also the same kids that always have their homework complete and are prepared for class.

They are frequently taking advanced classes and, like my English 1 students, doing quite well. Their busy schedule doesn’t interfere with their ability to do well in school. It instead sets the tone for self-discipline and high efficacy.

The same realization would come while watching a basketball game, attending a track meet, or listening to the performing musicians at church. Schools have long known that kids who are involved in extracurricular activities (both at and away from school) are more connected to school and do better with their school work than their peers who have lots of time on their hands.

With vacation right around the corner, it is easy to lapse into laid-back summer mode, sleeping in until noon and staying up half the night watching shows or playing games. But it’s more beneficial to look for productive ways to pass the time.

There are a myriad of summer camps that are offered in and around the Valley that get kids out and about. The summer months are a great time to pick up a new instrument and learn to play.

There are organizations, such as the animal shelter, that rely on the volunteer efforts of the community and are happy to put our vacationing students to work. Libraries offer summer reading programs to get books into the hands of kids.

It’s OK to push kids a little and keep them busy with enrichment. Because kids who do more, do more.

And they do better when they return to school in the fall.

Amber Rinella teaches language arts at Wasilla Middle School.