The Positive Role Chores Provides
How can you build children’s capacity to be competent, emotionally intelligent people?
The world is changing all the time and there are fewer opportunities in young people’s lives to build life skill competencies. However, you can use that lack in the world to the advantage of your students, your classroom, parents, the school and the overall community.
How, you ask? We well know that there are so many pressures on teachers’ time and energy these days to cover all the areas of the curriculum during the day, the after-hours communication with parents, not to mention the extra- curricular activities that great teachers engage with.
What about the children and how they can help with everyday, small tasks so teachers and parents are not seen as the servants of these budding learners?
Firstly, think about the value of chores:
• They teach life skills – patience, caring for others, being responsible for something.
• They teach skills of responsibility and self-reliance.
• Chores can help kids learn about teamwork.
• Doing chores helps people learn about respect for self, property and other people.
• Chores also teaches how to break down tasks and problem solving
• They are also great for experiencing real satisfaction for having done something well.
• Chores enable kids to learn about planning and time management.
• They can also be an opportunity to learn maths, chemistry and language.
• Chores can help us to learn that we are all human beings with equal value.
• The importance of maintenance is taught through completing chores.
If you now think that giving tasks to build a happier and healthier classroom is for you, carry on reading.
What tasks you do, that if the students helped, would make your classroom a better place to be in?
Step 1:
Make a list of all the routine tasks For example:
Step 2:
Consider how jobs can be given out. What skills are needed and who needs to learn and develop that skill? How you might buddy students into a more responsible chore? How long will the jobs be held? What happens if the job is not done or not done well?
Step 3:
Think about how you will make sure that you support your students to take on these roles. You may want to think about developing, “chores in the classroom” over time so it is not too much for you at once or too confusing for the students as they get used to a new way of doing things.
Step 4:
Build feedback into reports back to parents about how competent the student is becoming.
Step 5:
Notice the difference in your students’ levels of confidence, competence and how this also can radiate out to other spheres of well being.
