https://youtu.be/7yrRvuJ1gLg I remember exactly when the cultural shift started to take root. It was about twenty years ago, early in my career as a public school elementary teacher. All of a sudden, a wave of “participation awards” flooded the educational system. If kids competed in a school spelling bee, a science fair, or a gym […]
https://youtu.be/ODBR_AJhhkw The transition from a cozy elementary school classroom to the fast-paced world of middle school is one of the most intense structural shifts a child will ever experience in their youth. Suddenly, your fifth grader is no longer anchored to one classroom or a single teacher who manages their entire day. They are thrown […]
https://youtu.be/HuWFecJ35Ms It is the standard, textbook advice printed in school handbooks and repeated at assemblies across Racine: “If someone is bothering you, just tell a teacher.” While well-intentioned, I am going to ask you to wake up to a very uncomfortable truth: this advice is completely failing our children. Before opening our studio doors, I […]
https://youtu.be/3-BGbEtseg8 When parents walk through the doors of our Racine dojo and we ask them our standard onboarding question—“Is there anything we should know about your child’s learning or behavior?”—the answer we get at least 50% of the time involves four letters: ADHD. Decades ago, seeing this behavior was rare, maybe affecting one out of […]
https://youtu.be/HLQFFUGew5A If you grew up in the 1980s or 90s, you probably remember the classic child safety campaigns. We were all taught a very specific, almost cinematic script: a creepy man rolls down a car window and asks, “Hey kid, do you want a piece of candy?” or “Do you want to come look at […]
https://youtu.be/uJkYsvtAW6E “Mom, my stomach hurts.” “Dad, my head is pounding, I don’t think I can go to school today.” It’s a familiar morning routine for many families here in Racine. You look at your child, feel their forehead, and check for a fever—nothing. Their head and stomach are physically fine. So, what is actually going […]
https://youtube.com/shorts/SMTq_R5fN7Y When kids hear the phrase “summer slide,” they immediately think of the massive water slides down at the local community pool. But for parents, the summer slide represents something far more concerning. It’s the steep developmental and academic drop-off that happens when a child hits summer vacation, unplugs from all responsibilities, and does absolutely […]
https://youtu.be/NW6EuP6Gtcw It is a script that plays out in households across Racine every single day. You sign your child up for an activity—whether it’s Karate, Taekwondo, baseball, soccer, or wrestling. At first, they are incredibly excited. But a few months in, the enthusiasm vanishes, and suddenly it is a monumental struggle just to get them […]
https://youtu.be/P5L5f0oGZpg The first day of school is a massive milestone for families here in Racine. It only happens once, and it is completely natural for parents to feel a mix of intense excitement and nervous anticipation. When we are driving around town with our four- and five-year-olds in the backseat, we naturally focus on academic […]
https://youtu.be/as1QwfHe9OI If you scroll through social media or look at the toy aisles in the Racine area, youth activities for young girls are heavily marketed with a specific aesthetic: pink, passive, and polite. Some martial arts schools even invent “pink belts” to appeal to parents of young daughters. At Championship Martial Arts – Racine, we […]