2 mins read

The Race

It has been quite a while now since I have had the chance to blog on Modern Mom.  It has been a hectic few months, but with my youngest child making it to 3 years old, I am amazed at the changes that are taking place. I have four children, ranging in age from 3 to 9, 2 boys and 2 girls.  I am filled with wonder as I am finally getting the opportunity to take a breath and watch their development and their interaction with one another.  

As an educator, I am lucky enough to be able to have my work and my home life running parallel- as I learn in my work, it informs my parenting, and through my parenting I learn and inform my work.  I often joke that my kids are my "4 little lab rats."  My goal is to stay a few steps ahead of them, though I am sure this will not always be the case.

The other night I went to see "Race to Nowhere." What a fantastic commentary on the education system that we have in place.  I believe wholeheartedly in the message: we need to stop pushing our children so hard and give them the opportunities to interact and play–this is how they will learn to problem-solve.  I have always said that the greatest gift that someone can give to a child is social language instruction–teaching them how to communicate effectively.  As we move away from free play into adult-structured activities, kids lose their ability to solve problems on their own.

I am so pleased that the movie has garnered so much attention; I only hope that people will take the message to heart.  And I hope that as my children get older and those college applications loom large, I will be able to find a role that continues to allow them to grow into their own identity and I won’t fall prey to the pressure to join the Race.

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As Founder and Education Director of Pathways to Empower, Donna Volpitta, Ed.D. makes the brain science of resilience and mental health easy to understand and apply. Her Resilient Mindset Model, which draws on the latest research in neurology, psychology and education, has been applied to areas of leadership from parenting to corporate management. Donna is co-author of the book The Resilience Formula: A Guide to Proactive–Not Reactive-Parenting, author of Neuroworld: A Guide for Teaching the Brain Science of Resilience, and co-creator of the Nametags Education Program. She lives in New York and has four teenagers. A former classroom teacher with experience in both general and special education, Donna holds a doctoral degree in Learning Dis/Abilities from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She is also the parent of four children.