Parenting today has become more difficult than ever before. American parents have lived in fear for their child’s safety since that first picture was printed on a milk carton. As a result, gone are the days when a parent would open the front door and say, “Go outside and play, just be home for dinner.” Do you remember that? I do. There were no cell phones for keeping in touch or GPS devices for tracking. Off we went into our neighborhoods, vacant lots, parks, or malls.
We hung out with friends, we fought, we played made-up games and argued over the rules, always working together to come up with creative solutions to move the game forward. We never turned to our parents to solve our problems or to settle our arguments; we negotiated those matters on our own. No adult intervention necessary.
Research suggests that because of the freedom we had growing up, which included the freedom to do some foolish things that necessitated taking responsibility for our actions, we became capable problem solvers and resilient individuals. L. Todd Rose, a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of the autobiographical book, Square Peg, states that resilience “…is not, in fact, an inborn trait, … but rather the product of a complex system involving a positive feedback loop, in which a child becomes strong, at least in part due to other people’s belief in him.” When our parents encouraged us to go out and play, they unintentionally let us know that they believed in our ability to be responsible, that we were capable of solving our own problems, and that we were smart enough to know what to do should an unexpected challenge occur. They believed in us, but more importantly, we knew that they believed in us.
To quote Bob Dylan, “…the time’s they are a changin’”.
Julie Lythcott-Haims is the former dean of freshmen students for Stanford University. In her book How to Raise an Adult, she shares that in the late 1990’s, the first Millennial generation began going off to college and that she and her colleagues noticed a new phenomenon: parents, both virtually and literally, on the college campus. More and more parents were seeking opportunities, making decisions, and problem solving for their sons and daughters. Things that college-aged students once successfully did for themselves.
I remember sleeping overnight in line on my college campus to register for classes. In those days, the best way to get the classes we wanted or needed was to spend the night in line so that we could register first thing in the morning while seats were still available. Under the same circumstances, many of today’s parents would spend the night in line for their college-aged children.
Lythcott-Haims observed that there was a time in America when parents strove to prepare their children for the road before them. Today, more and more parents strive to prepare the road for their children, sometimes going to extremes to make certain that there are no speed bumps or pot holes because of their fear of what may happen should their child encounter any obstacles in their path. In doing so, they are preventing their children from life experiences in which they will have the opportunity to learn and grow. As the great educational philosopher John Dewey stated, “Education is not a preparation for life, education is life itself.” If we deny our children the opportunity to experience life, the good and the not so good, we are denying them a very significant part of their education, which is the wisdom that comes with life experience.
There is no perfect formula for child rearing, but we do know that when it comes to developing capable human beings, we must love our children enough to allow them to fall down, skin their knees, be disappointed, and yes, experience failure. In doing so, we don’t need to lecture or scold them. A simple “I hope you do better next time” is all that is necessary when a child comes home complaining about having to retake Algebra in summer school due to a failed grade.
As a lecturer once said during a presentation I attended, “the process of weaning is never easy, for the wean-e or the wean-or.”
But it’s necessary for the survival of our children. Developing creative individuals, critical thinkers, problem solvers, and resilient human beings requires allowing our children to experience a certain degree of challenge, frustration, hardship, disappointment, and ultimately failure.
Most children today are far more sophisticated then we were at their stage of life. But few are as mature as we were at the same developmental level. Maturation comes from experience, problem solving, and surviving challenges, disappointments and failures. That’s why we often hear of extremely successful entrepreneurs speaking of the challenges they had growing up, or the school challenges they faced as a result of some type of learning difference. They grew and matured as a result of successfully overcoming, and learning from, adversities in their lives.
I’ve never met a parent who doesn’t want the best for their child. As a parent myself, I clearly understand the pain we suffer when we see our child struggle, experience disappointment, or fail. I believe that we’d have happier and more resilient children if we returned to the days of striving to prepare our children for the road ahead instead of preparing the road for our child.
The Road Before Them
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Our team earned the 2023 Highest Rookie Seed Award and the Rookie Inspiration Award.
Assets School hosted a community event on Finding the Right Fit College & Thriving There at Damon Hall that was live-streamed on our YouTube Channel.
The snack shop is a place where students are able to buy a wide variety of small meals or snacks.
At Assets High School, students have the opportunity to choose from a variety of campus-based mentorships. One such mentorship is blacksmithing.
Have you seen our cat named Pretty Girl on the High School campus?
The Hawaii News Now Sunrise Morning show graciously hosted the High School journalism mentorship students for a tour of the newsroom and TV station on February 8.
Sydney '23 earned an Honorable Mention Award for her still-life painting titled "Sunflower" from the competitive Regional Scholastic Art Exhibition.
Our students went to Mokukea Island to learn about Native Hawaiian culture and the marine ecosystem.
U.S. Representative Ed Case presented Assets School’s Robotics Teams, Team Waffles, and Team MEAF, with two Special Congressional Certificates at the high school campus on Friday, January 20 during a special school assembly at Damon Hall.
Students from kindergarten
through 12th grade can be evaluated whether they are from a public, private or charter
school at the Transforming Lives Center at the Assets School K-8 campus.
The Assets High School Journalism Mentorship Program students were engaged as they observed the Hawaii Public Radio newsroom in action on a tour.
Assets School's Robotics Team Waffles won first place in the State Championships! Now the team competes in the world championship in April.
We have three robotics teams. Two are at the High School and one is at K-8.
Here are the videos of the speakers at the "A Deeper Dive into Understanding Dyslexia' community educational event.
You are invited to join us for an alumni luncheon on Friday, Dec. 16 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Damon Hall at Assets High School.
Assets Robotics Team Waffles ranked in the top five teams in the world for this week, according to FIRST Tech Challenge. They beat out teams from New York, Florida, Australia and Canada.
Assets School's K-8 Principal Sungalina Lee was interviewed on Hawaii Public Radio about ADHD and girls.
Rechung Fujihara, owner of co-working space BoxJelly, and Assets Alumnus spoke to Pacific Business News about how Assets School helped him with his dyslexia and become a successful business owner.
Our Assistant Head of School/Admissions Director Sandi Tadaki was interviewed about the importance of early intervention for students with dyslexia on Hawaii Public Radio on The Conversation. October is Dyslexia Awareness Month.
KITV features Assets School's "A Deeper Dive into Understanding Dyslexia" event held in honor of October is Dyslexia Awareness Month.
Please join us on October 20th from 5:30-6:30pm to learn more.
An estimated one in five American children experience learning challenges, and demand is high for affordable programs to serve them, especially in Hawaii.
Assets School opens the Transforming Lives Center, the first private school-based full resource center on Oahu to provide comprehensive assessments of students.
Girls Who Code and Trellix Donate 25 ChromeBooks to Assets Robotics
We are proud and excited to share in the celebration of 36 graduates this year.
Illumination 2022 raised $354,704.
Team Waffles received the Connect Award for this year's FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics season!
On Tuesday March 1, former NASA astronaut Capt. William Shepherd USN (Ret.) met virtually with two groups of Assets students as part of a space exploration class.
Hawaii Dental Service Foundation Generously Donates $50,000 to Assets School
This robotics program is geared towards students nine to sixteen years old and teaches them to program, build, and work with a team while having fun and exploring the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Governor David Ige has awarded Assets School $378,000 to create the Transforming Lives Center.
Congratulations to Assistant Head of School and Director of Admissions Sandi Tadaki and Director of Professional Development and Outreach Darlene Robertson on their 40th Anniversaries with Assets School.
We were honored to have Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi proclaim June 30th as Assets School’s 65th Anniversary Day. Check out the highlights video: https://youtu.be/mBi3YmrGYpY
Listen to Ryan Masa's interview on HPR's 'The Conversation' with Catherine Cruz.
Rusty Komori, leadership consultant, author, motivational speaker, tv host and tennis professional interviews Ryan Masa.
Ryan Masa is interviewed by Kanoe Gibson on HINOWDaily and shares about our Illumination auction and "Celebrating 65 Years of Transforming Lives" television show.
Former Academy of the Pacific Board Chair Barron Guss shares a congratulatory message with the Assets community.
Assets' metal arts mentorship (a.k.a. blacksmithing) was recently featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Assets is producing a one-hour television show: “Assets School-Celebrating 65 Years of Transforming Lives.”
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 14th at 8 p.m. on K5, Saturday, April 17th at 6 p.m. on KGMB-TV (CBS) and Sunday, April 18th at 4 p.m. on KHNL-TV (NBC).
Save the Date for our virtual Illumination 2021 ~ Stars and Stripes: Honoring Assets’ Frontline Heroes, Assets' Teachers and former AOP Teachers on Saturday, April 17. Visit https://www.assets-school.org/giving/illumination for more information!
Assets School's community of #GreatMinds collected 1,254 pounds of food and $300, which was donated to the Hawaii Foodbank for Assets School's first Giving Back Tuesday.
KHON2 News featured our #GreatMinds and their recent robotics project that was donated to The Queen's Medical Center.
A team of three high school students, with oversight from their Assets robotics teacher Mr. Peter Han, has been designing a food delivery robot since June. This student-led project was delivered on Tuesday, Nov. 3 to The Queen’s Medical Center.
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and is celebrated worldwide. Please visit the HIDA website for more details and to sign up for their virtual events!
Please support our High School Student Activities fundraiser. Assets is once again partnering with Habilitat to offer Christmas Trees. You can order online at HawaiiChristmasTrees.com
Orders due by October 23rd!
Assets School's College and Career Counselor Ms. Farris James is also a community leader serving as the President of the Hawaii Association for College Admission Counseling. Check out this informative Star-Advertser story by Susan Essoyan: https://www.staradvertiser.com/.../free-virtual-college.../
Hawaii Business Magazine interviewed Head of School Ryan Masa about our reopening plans in August. Check out the article here.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser gives a shout-out to promote Illumination Virtual Auction: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/07/17/breaking-news/assets-school-holds-online-auction-to-support-financial-aid/
If you've ever been to one of our Gala events, you know the excitement and energy that auctioneer Eric Schiff brings to the room! We are so excited that Eric has kindly offered to join us for our Facebook Livestream tomorrow, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
We are two days into our Virtual Auction and are so grateful for the support we are receiving along with the awesome bidding that's going on with a few of our hot ticket items: https://youtu.be/RnZGROpxYO0
This morning, Head of School Ryan Masa was interviewed on The Mike Buck Show about Assets School and our Illumination auction. Check out the playback here and feel free to share it!
Our Illumination Virtual Auction is now live! You can register to bid using these instructions.
Students like 2020 graduates Michaela and Kapono know first-hand the importance and life-enhancing impact from an Assets education and invite you to join us for our online event: https://youtu.be/na-bpOVR378
Hawaiian Studies teacher Mele-Aina Wood shares how important it is to pay it forward because someday those children, who have benefitted from your generosity, will be the ones giving back: https://youtu.be/d42FgQzmjws
Assistant Head of School and Director of Admissions Sandi Tadaki has been serving the families of Assets School for 38 years. She knows exactly how important Assets is to the community: https://youtu.be/xu1GZQIUlEY
Assets Parent `Ohana (APO) President Janet Marlette shares in her video message that our annual Illumination event and auction is one of the school’s primary sources of raising funds for financial aid assistance: https://youtu.be/zr_rtdO-Pe0
Head of School Ryan Masa and Chair of Board Kitty Yannone share a warm welcome and Mahalo to our Assets `Ohana in this video: https://youtu.be/ITG8Pg-FmHQ
Head of School Ryan Masa was featured today on Hawaii Public Radio's (HPR) show, "The Conversation", hosted by news reporter, Catherine Cruz.
If you missed the live show, HPR posted the audio online: https://www.hawaiipublicradio.
Assets School welcomes Linda Jameson Myers as our new Vice President of Institutional Advancement.
We are excited to announce that Nikki Hamai Sakai is Assets School's new High School Principal!
The 2020 Illumination Virtual Auction launches July 16. Stay tuned for more details!
Special times called for special measures. Thanks to Assets' Robotics Coach, Peter Han, our #greatminds had one of the most unique graduation ceremonies that included a Diploma Robot!
Kudos to our staff, teachers and students for a successful Beautification Day on our K-8 Campus! This all happened thanks to a grant from the Kokua Hawaii Foundation!
Assets School announces the selection of Gary Hogan of Hogan Hospitality Group and Gregory M. Sato of Kobayashi Sugita & Goda, LLP to its Board of Trustees.
Special feature by Hawaii News Now: Assets School helps students think outside the box and discover new strengths.
Dr. Suzy Travis, Assets High School Principal, is highlighted in the Hawaii Educational Network Consortium/HAIS Film by Kelsey Matsu entitled 'Rethinking Assessment.'
Caitlin Mates has been named Assets School K-8 Principal, succeeding Ryan Masa, who is moving into the Head of School role.
Paul Singer, Assets’ Head of School since 2008, will retire at the end of this school year, and Lower School Principal Ryan Masa has been selected to succeed him.
Current trends in education include three key concepts in student-centered learning: differentiated, personalized and individualized instruction.
Two years after Kamehameha Schools and Assets School collaborated on a first-of-its kind scholarship program...
I propose we add one more important question to children, one we should be ready to answer openly for ourselves and to our children. “What am I marching for?”
Research suggests that because of the freedom we had growing up, which included the freedom to do some foolish things that necessitated taking responsibility for our actions, we became capable problem solvers and resilient individuals.