Structure Brings Security
I had the privilege of attending a two day conference this past week at Northern Illinois University organized by Illinois ASPIRE. Besides learning about many helpful studies in the area of reading, I also learned about setting behavior goals for students. One of the speakers, Randy Sprick, Ph.D., spoke of how important school structure is for the success of our students. He used an example of school lunch lines. If school lunch lines are run inefficiently so that students have to wait a long time to get their lunches, then students begin to think about how they are going to get down to the lunch lines before everyone else. The problem is that they start to think about this while they are in still in the class that meets before lunch and so their attention is taken away from the lesson on which they should be concentrating. I was thinking about how I feel better when my life is properly structured. I like to have a plan for what meals I am going to prepare and have the food on hand to make those meals. I like to know that my clothes are ironed and ready to wear. I like to know that I have enough time to do what I need to do and also get enough sleep at night so that I feel rested and energetic the next day. Children, also, thrive with structure. If there is a natural flow and rhythm to their lives, they feel more comfortable and secure. This structure varies from family to family, but it should include eating times, homework times, reading times, helping times, relaxing times and bed times. The gifts of well-structured homes and schools can be a positive influence on the behavior of our children, both in school and out of school.
