It’s time to redefine success for our kids | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 11:36 am Sunday, April 10, 2016

To the editor:

Each time I see the honor roll for Bainbridge students posted in the Review, as it was again in March, I feel deeply saddened that my community continues to perpetuate a false sense of success for our children and teens.

Of course we want young people to reach their academic potential — different for each child. But today, we understand that grades are such a small part of healthy youth development. When we reduce success to a grade point average, and then post it in the newspaper for everyone to see, we reinforce that grades matter at all costs. We do our children a great disservice.

As a developmental psychologist, researcher in the field of positive youth development, and member of the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance Leadership Council, I am asking the Review to stop the outdated practice of posting honor rolls. Instead, the Review would better contribute to the development of our students by featuring more authentic stories of “successful” children and teens.

What stories do successful kids tell? They talk about overcoming challenges, likely with the help of supportive adults. Let’s honor young people’s courage and recognize the adults who make a difference in their lives.

Successful kids lead with empathy. They give of themselves to help others. Often, they are inspired by people different from themselves, through whom they discover meaning and life purpose. Let’s recognize their compassion and provide a platform for how they feel about the world.

Not all successful children go to top-ranked universities. Many develop a deep sense of curiosity and talent in special arenas that lead them to choose a non-traditional college or technical school. Let’s honor their self-awareness, and their confidence to follow their own dreams.

What if we listened to and reported about young people in new ways, beyond a statistic — through stories that truly mattered to their positive development? We’d be known as a community that helped raise and educate children who grew up to successfully chart their own meaningful paths through life.

MARILYN PRICE-MITCHELL

Bainbridge Island