Candidate School Newsletter

Cooperation & Tolerance

What is COOPERATION?
According to the IBO (Making the PYP Happen, 2007), cooperation is collaborating and leading or following as the situation demands.
is setting an example that is seen by children and recorded for future reference. 2. Provide other models of good behavior. Children are exposed to lots of models other than parents, including television, movies, books, recordings, and videogames. Make an effort to screen these media and choose those that show good friendships, unselfish giving, or acts of kindness. 3. Give suggestions and reasons. One of the reasons adults sometimes fail to help is that they do not know what to do or how to do it. Dont expect a child to automatically know how to do anything without specific, concrete suggestions. For example, tell a 5-yearold: Joan, push the door and hold it open for Mrs. Stanley. Shes having trouble doing that and pulling the grocery cart, too. A 4year-old is more likely to help if you say: I want you to help me set the table because I have to finish the salad. Here are the plates. Put a napkin, a knife and a fork next to each platelike this. Giving reasons along with suggestions helps children understand why another person needs their help and makes them more willing to cooperate. 4. Assign age-appropriate but real responsibilities. We usually get what we expect from children and they need to know that we expect them to take an active part in the work of the family. Parents can convey expectations of cooperation and helpfulness not by preaching but by giving children real chores. 5. Do a project. Work on a family project together. The authors of 365 Ways to Help Your Children Grow recommends creating a family nature collage. First, get the family together and go on a walk to collect small objects like flowers, stones, seeds, etc. then when you return home take a large piece of poster board and design a scene by allowing everyone to contribute some of their found objects. 6. Give suggestions and reasons. Help your children understand why they should cooperate and give them suggestions to help them learn cooperation. Often children do not see a need so giving a suggestion helps them realize how they can cooperate. The other day at church I asked my son to hold the door open for me. When he asked why I explained because I was holding books in one hand and my youngest daughter in the other it would have been hard for me to do. Then I thanked him for helping me. Giving your child reasons why they should cooperate makes them more willing to do so.
Source: Childrens Day Newsletter, May 2004 and CuteKid Staff

Why do some children seem willing to cooperate while others do not?

In fact, children learn to be cooperative and helpful. They do not become that way automatically. They have to learn to work with others by sharing materials and information. Children have to learn how to make someone elses work or play easier. This learning takes place slowly, but the foundations can be laid early in life. Here are some things parents and caregivers can do that will set the stage for the development of cooperation: 1. Be a model. This is one of the best ways to teach cooperation because children imitate the actions of people who are important to them. If young children see parents and other adults cooperating with others, they will be more willing to do the same. When a parent helps a neighbor move an air conditioner, or takes a casserole to the new family next door, he or she Volume 1; Issue XII

We may have all come on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Candidate School Newsletter

Cooperation & Tolerance
What is TOLERANCE ? According to the
IBO (Making the PYP Happen, 2007), people who show tolerance feel sensitivity towards differences and diversity in the world and are responsive to the needs of others.
and respect Mimi uses a walker, honey. How do you think she would feel about that joke? or How did you feel when Robbie made fun of your glasses last week? 4. Support your children when they are the victims of intolerance. Respect childrens troubles by acknowledging when they become targets of bias. Dont minimize the experience. Provide emotional support and then brainstorm constructive responses. Develop a set of comebacks for children who are victims of namecalling. 5. Foster a healthy understanding of group identities. For pre-teens and teens, group identity is critical. Remind them, however, of three things. First, pride in our own groups does not mandate disrespect for others. Second, no group is entitled to special privileges. Third, we should avoid putting other groups down as a way to elevate the status of our own groups. 6. Showcase diversity materials in your home. Read books with multicultural and tolerance themes to your children. Assess the cultural diversity reflected in your homes artwork, music and literature. Add something new: give multicultural dolls, toys or games as gifts. Bookmark equity and diversity websites on your home computer. 7. Create opportunities for children to interact with people who are different from them. Look critically at how a child defines normal. Expand the definition. Visit playgrounds where a variety of children are present people of different races/ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, family structures, etc. Encourage a child to spend time with elders grandparents, for example. Attend religious services at a variety of houses of worship. 8. Encourage children to call upon community resources. The earlier children interact with the community, the better; we are not islands unto ourselves. If a child is interested in stars, visit the local library, museum or planetarium. A child who is concerned about world hunger can volunteer at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter. 9. Be honest about differences. Do not tell children that we are all the same; were not. We experience the world in different ways, and those experiences matter. Help your child understand the viewpoints of others. Make sure to point out similarities and differences. 10. Model the behavior you would like to see. As parents and as childrens primary role models, we must be consistent in how we treat others and in our commitment to tolerance. If we as parents treat people differently based on characteristics such as race or gender, our children are likely to do the same.
Tip for Parents is brought to you by St. Vrain Valley School Districts Community Relations. 2007 National School Public Relations Association. Used with permission as a special communication to St. Vrain Valley School District families. Source: www.tolerance.org/parents

Ten Ways to Nurture Tolerance in Children

1. Talk about tolerance. Tolerance is an ongoing process; it cannot be captured in a single moment. Establish a high comfort level for open dialogue about social issues. Let children know that no subject is taboo. 2. Identify intolerance when children are exposed to it. Point out stereotypes and cultural misinformation depicted in movies, TV shows, computer games and other media. Challenge bias when it comes from friends and family members. Do not let the moment pass. Begin with a qualified statement: Andrew just called people of XYZ faith lunatics. What do you think about that, Zoe? Let children do most of the talking. 3. Challenge intolerance when it comes from your children. When a child says or does something that reflects biases or embraces stereotypes, point it out: What makes that joke funny, Jerome? Guide the conversation toward internalization of empathy Volume 1; Issue XII

We may have all come on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now.
-Martin Luther King Jr.