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© a OPINION ‘GETTING ON TRACK IN SCHOOL EARLY With the first week of = school complete, the new 2 pent cils ewhat dulled ursday, September 22, 2 and the ee shoes a little — scuffed up, the reality ofa learning hanging and thatisal- most always hard. When the shiny new things lose their lustre, it's about getting down to work and putting in the time and effort to affect the cee a teacher is requestin; e speed of adjustment to change will vary for each student. Asa parent, I suggest an early check-in with your child's teacher, especially if you are beginning to notice any signs of frustration. Is homework becoming a bat- tle? Is the child's mood af- GRAHAM HOOKEY Column pacting on a child's psyche 1d while the “wait and see" strategy does have some merit to it, it is alsoa ut a persistent. mood change or behaviour grange should be concern- and should be ad- dressed sooner rather than later. The longer it goes on, the deeper it will become educating parents on the routines and expectations of each classroom, I sug- gest a little more than be- nign attendance. Take the time, early in the school year, to intro- duce yourself directly to the teacher. Rather than ask how your child is do- ing, because quite often the teacher is still getting to know your child and what can be expected, simply suggest that you are in- volved and available and that if the teacher has any concerns, or needs your support, that he/she not hesitate to contact you. if you are contacted, respond quickly. The worst thing you can do is offer support and subsequently abandon the teacher when he/she reaches out to you. have been made monitor your child's school re- sponse. If it appears your child is having good. exper: ent ith thing, drop a note to the teacher and let him/her know, per- haps with a short thank you for their effort. Simi- larly, if your child is show- ing distress about some- thing, let the teacher know about it and ask how you can help at home. Let the teacher know if there is anything happening at home that might be affect- ing school performance. At this point, I need to make an important point. Children often act differ- ently at home than they do at school, for a lot of rea- sons. What a parent is see: ing and what a teacher is seeing might be two very TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA one or the other, or for that matter, both. The kids themselves n't always understand why they are feeling the portive network of li ers, at home and at schoo! goes a long way toward helping young people un- derstand how to manage their emotions, take steps to becoming more indepen- dent learners and feel more secure and confident as new challenge after new challenge hits them in the classroom. There are always a few ups and downs in any school year, for students, teachers and parent: best * ay to moderate ‘he into a more steady and 1 “productive learning cycle is to encourage open communication between, evel . The sooner in the year “that begins, the better! This newspaper, published every lay, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concems write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite aye He Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W Phone: 416-340-1: oe Web: www.mediacouncil.ca nn¢e Aocna Nesektaiacounet editorial@waterloochronicle.ca Pcie ican waterlonchronicte @wichrot WHO WE ARE Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Neil Oliver Vice President, Conte Community and Operations Dana Robbins ter school sombre, oreven and the more difficult it Youwillbemuchlesslikely different things and ifcom- Graham Hookey is the Director of Content ? will be to remediate. to hear from the teacher munication between the author of "Parenting IsA en tl by seal Manager It generally doesn't take many schools of- _ again if you do. two is not regular, then it Team Sport" and can be Recon Parreira io toolongforlearningissues fer information nights ear- Once your introduction can lead toalotofmisun- reached at ghookey@ya- Regional Director of Media or social issues to begin im- ly in the year, as a way oO! and offer to be supportive derstanding on the part of hoo.com. Heather Dunbar Fran Hendry, Katrina Anderson, tial role. Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, WORK-LIFE BALANCE CAN BE GOOD FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING MY EMPLOYER AT THE ROOT OF THIS SEISMIC SHIFT IS THE INCREASED AWARENESS OF HOW WEALTH IS ACTUALLY DISTRIBUTED, WRITES DREW EDWARDS For almost 25 years, I worked in an industry where working long hours, often for little extra com- pensation, was seen as a 3 was c 3 more often than not, only § those willing to go "above § and beyond" could expect to be rewar And so IT did. I put in water DREW EDWARDS: Column loads of extra time, worked when I was supposed to be off, prioritized my job over ployee, my work ethic was never questioned. Did I get ahead? Yes, sort of. Do I regret it? Absolute- ly. I've been thinking about the nature of work a lot late- ly. First, there was the "Great Resignation" during the pandemic, in which large swaths of the work- force are said to have left eir jobs. Now we have rani Quitting," where employees are giving up on the idea of doing one iota more work than they are being paid to At the root “of this seis- mic shift is the increased awareness of how wealth is actually distributed. Sure, those nearer the bottom of the economic food chain can work harder and see some incremental gains, but the pot of goldis largely a promise that is never re- alized: the biggest benefi- ciaries of all that extra work are owners and share- holders. That's modern capital- ism in a nutshell: the wealth of the few increases exponentially at the ex- pense of others. That funda- mental inequity is due for a reckoning, and the idea of "Quiet Quitting" is one ex- ample of change in action. There are, of course, other solutions. I've been lucky enough to land in a new industry and with a company that prioritizes employee well-being. Part of that is because the com- petition for talent is in- creasingly fierce, and treat- ing people right helps tre- mendously in recruitment and retention. The philoso- phy of ownership — basi- cally that the entire compa- ny should benefit from suc- cess —also plays a substan- I don't think my work ethic has changed and I'm joband I feel accountable to the people I work for and with. I feel like our collec- tive success will lead to in- dividual rewards and I've got the pay stubs to prove it. The standards I set for my- self are higher than those my employer sets for me, something that's always been the case. is changed is the unnecessary extra effort. I work my allotted hours but no more, unless absolutely necessary. When I'm off, I'm off — not checking my phone every time it dings. I feel like I have a work-life balance that's sustainable. The funny thing is, I think I'm a better employee than ever: and I don't need to quit or be quiet about it. Drew Edwards can be reached at drew@drewed- Lisa Humphreys, Cassandra Dellow, Zaid Shahabuddn, Managing Editor Robyn Wilkinson ‘Online Editor Loraine Centeno News Editor Ned Bekavac Reporter Bill Jackson Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Waterloo Chronicle 219 Labrador Dr. Suite 203, Waterloo, on N2K on Phone: 519- Web: www. watefonchonil.ca Letters to the editor Allletters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail sustomerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000. Acerédité Accredited.