Whole Child on YouTube

We've got a powerful new tool in the effort to spread the word about ASCD's Whole Child Campaign. ASCD recently released a short video on YouTube that dynamically captures the message of the Whole Child.

We hope you'll watch the video, share it with your colleagues, and continue to help ASCD spur conversations across the country about how to ensure each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

Comments

[Diane Yerkes]

I was disappointed in the video. While the message is important, the voice was so distracting that I'm afraid I might have lost the message. Couldn't ASCD have found a professional speaker to really "sell" the message?

[AC]

Excellent !!! One of the hardest things about my work as a teacher is the lack of understanding on why we need to change education- why,how and what education is now has to shift to meet the needs of a new world. Thank you for helping to get the message out there.

[Robert Paul]

Outstanding message! All teachers know in their heart of hearts, the when we work with a student we are working with a real person capable of creativity, exporation and wisdom. We deal with so much more than what can be tested for with a pencil and paper. Our future on this earth will be forged by young creative mind who need all of the aspects of care and attention we can give them.

[Maureen Clement]

Insightful. Do we as a people really care about the whole child? Is not society set up to applaud the excesses of singular achievement rather than the temperance of manifold experience? Do we value all experiences and talents equally? Are we not all talented in some way? But are not some talents more worthwhile than others for social acceptance? Likewise, are we not all remedial in other ways? Do we not all struggle in certain areas of our lives? But we define some struggles as more nugatory than others. Can education (i.e. schooling) help remove these barriers of non-acceptance that it has helped to perpetuate over time? Are we ready for what this video asks?

[N.W.]

I am so in agreement with the video 'The Whole Child" Our new wave in education to teach to the test, having every child on the same page, cutting out the arts and other extra-curricular and not taking into account the very richness of individuality is our greatest mistake in education to date. Meeting the needs of our children today can only forge the way for a brighter future.

[Sandy B]

I am also in agreement and completely in support of all ideas presented in the video. I think that teaching to the test has taken so much away from other educational areas, and is not giving students a fair chance. But how do we as teachers change the world?

[Debi Mc]

As a teacher I fully agree that we are being asked more and more to act as more than just someone who instructs a child in academics. With home lives changing so much; both parents working, TV, computers, cell phones, etc. and less time being spent with 'family', the teacher is having to make up the difference. Teaching has become about caring for students by meeting their needs, whether those needs are someone to talk to or someone to encourage them.

To comment on what N.W. said about changing the whole world, that's pretty much impossible. We have to focus on what we can affect. We have a strong influence on our students, their parents, and our colleagues. These are the people we concentrate on and in turn, they will take that love and caring we show to them and transfer it to those that they deal with.

[Sarah]

I think the video had a good message. Children shouldn't have to choose between things they love. We should offer all areas of study. What bothered me was the statement about a child not worrying about chemistry after having a toothache for two days. Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a parent's responsibility? Teachers get more things thrown on us everyday. We get told by everyone how to do our jobs. When are we going to hold families accountable. Shouldn't it be the parents making sure their children are supported and safe? Teachers do care a great deal but come on, we can't do it all. When are the parents going to be held accountable? That's why we can't keep good teachers. We have to do it all. No one else takes any responsibility for these children. You can't sit a child in front of a television or video game for five years and then expect teachers to work miracles. We all have to do our part and until that happens teachers are fighting a losing battle. This "Whole Child" is just another fad in covering up what really needs to be done.

[Mrspakman]

It was a powerful message for me as a mom to think about how I want to raise my two children. It's so easy for me to get caught up with what other moms are doing here in Orange County, California. Other moms spend so much of their time and money to take their kids to all sorts of extra curriculum activities and hire private tutors to help their kids' school work. Many parents feel pressured to do what other parents are doing for their kids. They simply don't want their kids to get behind. Are they doing what's best for their kids? I need to focus on my belief to support my children to discover and develop their true talent and gift to become whole children.

[Estelle]

I thought the video was effective because it moved me. It addressed the objective which was The Whole Child and how we as teachers should address the whole child.
The format was good, they told us what they were going to tell us, the told us, then they told us what they had already told us.
I thought the voice of whomever was speaking during the video was effective because it was real. I sensed a bit of desperation in her voice but I know she cares.

[NBurger]

The video was beautifully done and quite thought-provoking. I appreciated how the video stressed the importance of all subjects and courses. I teach all electives and am proud to teach life skills that are valuable to all students, even those in AP and Honors courses. My courses are no less important in developing the whole child and play a key role in preparing students to go out and succeed as productive citizens in a global society.

[Colleen]

This video inspired me as a classroom teacher. It is so easy to get caught up in the teaching of curriculum, even though my personal philosophy is to teach the "whole child". This video will surely be passed on to my colleagues and a reminder that as teachers, we are resposnsible for bringing out the strengths in our children!

[Jane]

I to agree that we should be teaching the whole child. Learning is not something that can be compartmentalized. As a teacher, I can't expect my students to remain focued on a lesson if they are ill, under stress, or just not ready maturationally yet. When programs are cut from school that alllow kids to express themselves creatively, we are no longer addressing the whole child. More focus should be placed on the child and not just on his/her standardized test score.

[Jane]

I to agree that we should be teaching the whole child. Learning is not something that can be compartmentalized. As a teacher, I can't expect my students to remain focued on a lesson if they are ill, under stress, or just not ready maturationally yet. When programs are cut from school that alllow kids to express themselves creatively, we are no longer addressing the whole child. More focus should be placed on the child and not just on his/her standardized test score.

[Kim Snyder]

This was a beautifully made video, and it has inspired me to find out more about this organization. As a mother of four and a teacher of many more, I'm always looking for ways to bring out the talents, gifts, and strengths of those placed in my care. There are so many subjects to cover in school, but real learning takes place when there is a connection made between the subject and the life of the individual student. My relationship with my students is strengthened when I show that I care about every aspect of their lives, not just the academics.

[Beth Shemanski]

"The New Compact" is truly a worthwhile endeavor. It saddens me to think that we need such a compact. Of course, we as educators need to take care of the whole child. We as neighbors need to do this also. Sometimes in school, we seem so rushed to get in everything that we need to in a day that it's almost impossible to make sure everything each individual child needs, s/he gets. We can't do it all but we have to try. We have to try to enlist the help of the parents, other staff members and the community. I loved the quote at the beginning of the video about, "Children are the message we send to a time we will never see." John W. Whitehead

[Kurt]

It is truly amazing how we are born with a need for being healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. The reason I say this is amazing, is that along the way many children might have only one or none of these needs met. Being an educator, it is often tough to watch a video such as this and see how much is missing with so many of our students. I feel I need to step it up and meet all of these needs all of the time. That is a challenge that I believe will take me to higher level of teaching and reaching these students.