GATES MILLS, Ohio — The school year is starting and that means a lot of stress and anxiety for both the students and parents. You may be wondering...
"How will my child handle issues at school?”
“Will they need my help?”
“Will they be OK?"
But parents at Saint Francis of Assisi School in Gates Mills get a little extra help from junior high language arts teacher, Cindy D'Alessandro, with her famous, annual speech she calls “Cutting the Cord."
“I bring out the scissors and I give parents scissors, ask them if they have one. If they don’t, take it home put it on your dresser. I want them to tell their children cut the cord,” says D’Alessandro, “Cut the cord between them and their parents. So as 8th graders, as junior high students, they can stand up on their own two feet. They could advocate for themselves.”
You can listen to the entire conversation on the Mom Squad Pod, wherever you download your podcasts. You can also catch the episode on the WKYC YouTube page (below):
Miss D, as students call her, explains to parents the process of students gaining independence.
“They need to speak up for themselves. If they get a bad grade on something and they don’t understand it, they need to ask the questions instead of the parent," she says. "If they could do it in 8th grade, then by the time they get in high school the following year, they'll be so much better for it.”
Miss D gives the parents some tough love, but she also reminds them to give themselves, their kids and everyone a little grace.
“I tell them that it's OK to fail and I'm going to fail in things and you child is going to fail and the best lesson you can give them is let pick themselves up -- let them learn on their own -- let them pick themselves up.”
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