"bien educado" = well-mannered

In Spanish, when we say a child is well-educated, we say “está bien educado” – what we mean is that child is well-mannered. The Hebrew word for “education” comes from a word that means “to build up” and “to begin.”   So to educate a child is to build up and to begin by laying the groundwork for the future.   In the past, most of the focus has been on building young children’s academic skills in an effort to ensure they are prepared for school.  In recent years, however, a growing body of research has demonstrated a strong link between young children’s social-emotional competence and their cognitive development, language skills, mental health and school success.   So what is this important foundation called social-emotional competence?

All the things that make one truly successful.  A person with an advanced degree, for example, without the following characteristics would not be considered a successful person.  A truly successful individual or one who is “bien educado” is one who has/is:

·        Self-Worth, Self-Respect, Confident, Motivated, Persistent, Hard Working, Positive Mental Attitude

·        Disciplined, Goal Setter, Decisive, Organized, Dependable

·        Humility, Learner

·        Compassionate, Loving, Enthusiastic, Patient, Empathetic

·        Communicator, Good Listener, Able to Resolve Conflicts,

·        Friendly, Good Humor,  

·        Honesty, Integrity, Loyal, Dedicated

The amazing thing is that these are all the things we, parents, can teach our children and which build them up while laying the foundation to ensure they are prepared to succeed in school and in their future career.  A good place to start is by reflecting on these qualities in ourselves because whether we like it or not, the most effective teaching strategy is our example. 

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