The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
News
Ways Students Are Different
Mr. Mufson shares some possible reasons for a shift in student behavior in recent years.
A parent recently shared with me an article he had seen online that was written by a pediatric occupational therapist. The provocative title “Why are our children so bored at school, cannot wait, get easily frustrated, and have no real friends?” drew me in. In fact, I shared its gist with our visitors on Grandparents and Special Friends Day last week. The author, Victoria Prooday, maintains that over the last ten years, she has noted “a decline in kids’ social, emotional, and academic functioning, as well as a sharp increase in learning disabilities and other diagnoses.” She asserts there are basically five key reasons for these trends:
- “Using technology as a free babysitting service,” which limits kids’ attention as well as their ability to delay gratification and attend to sources with low levels of stimulation (books, for instance). Prooday remarks that “compared to virtual reality, every day life is boring,” and that technology tends to “disconnect us emotionally from our children… [which] is the main nutrient for children’s brains.”
- “Kids get everything they want the moment they want it.” By trying to keep our children happy (and ourselves less stressed), we inadvertently make them “less equipped to deal with even minor stressors, which eventually become huge obstacles to their success in life.”
- “Kids rule the world.” The author frequently hears parents report, “My son doesn’t want to try new foods” or “She doesn’t want to get dressed on her own” or “My kids refuse to help at all around the house.” By caving to kids’ demands that we know are not good for them, “they learn they can do what they want and not do what they don’t want.” The problem, of course, is that to achieve important goals, we often have to do things we don’t want to do.
- “We have created an artificial fun world for our children. There are no dull moments.” Children need to learn to do the basic, monotonous work that is part of life. They have to learn to do and find things to think about that stave off boredom. They have to learn to entertain themselves. If they don’t, it’s no wonder they don’t persevere in school with things that are not intrinsically interesting and novel to them.
- Since most parents are so busy, “we give our kids digital gadgets and make them ‘busy,’ too… Kids used to play outside, where, in unstructured natural environments, they learned and practiced their social skills.” Now kids tend to get shuttled from one structured, adult-organized activity to another, without having significant time in which they have to figure things out for themselves.
In next week’s piece I will outline what Prooday suggests parents do to counteract these trends.
Recent News
List of 5 news stories.
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Kindergarten Students Serving Others!
Kindergarteners have been participating in a 3 part HOHO (Helping Others; Helping Ourselves) project lead by Ferris and Laura Butler. Students packed boxes to be shipped to veterans and their families. The boxeswere filled with child friendly, donated items. Also in the boxes were handwritten letters from the students along with a handmade American flag craft. The Butlers carefully orchestrated this project, and we are very grateful for their time and efforts. -
Spring Athletic Award Winners
Congratulations to all our spring athletics award winners and to all our Cougar athletes who participated in sports and clubs! This spring, TCS offered Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, Pickleball Club, Running Club, and Volleyball Club. Providing so many athletic opportunities took a village—thank you to our amazing coaches, volunteers, and parent drivers for making it all possible! And thank you to our students for setting an example of dedication and sportsmanship!Read More -
Summer Trips for Upper School Students in 2025
It is with great excitement that The Country School announces the addition of 2025 summer trips for our Upper School students!Read More -
The Country School Celebrates 90 Years and Installs Jay Parker
Read MoreThe Country School is proud to be celebrating its 90th school year. This milestone year also marks the beginning of a new chapter with the appointment of Jay Parker as the 7th Head of School. -
Conversation & Homecoming - Saturday, February 24, 2024
Read MoreThe Country School, Talbot County Free Library, and the Avalon Foundation, sponsors, join with fourteen other community organizations to present Conversation & Homecoming with Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, a program free and open to all.
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