To Cry or To Laugh?

Which shall it be? I guess it depends on what I want out of life this day. Let's see--it is gorgeous here--only a day that a loving God could give us. Flowers are bold and bright......

Fountains are bubbling and the perfect setting for birds to take their baths....

After they feast.....

The harmony of the bird talk and song, awesome and peaceful. What a creation! That is the smile and the laughter.

Then--I must leave this spot of heaven to go buy clothes Casey neglected to mention he needed for the Junior Model United Nations Conference. How could he not have heard that he needed: dress pants, shirt, tie and SHOES--the caps compliment of the teacher when she e-mailed to tell me that he was not dressed appropriately today. His church casual clothes, which by the way look very nice, will not do--tomorrow he must dress properly. I do understand why this is important and I do intend to strangle him when he gets home today; however, what an expense for a one time wear. I guess he will gussy up for promotion next week and the award ceremony he has prior to that..neither of which require such formality.

I wonder where he parks his brain much of the time. I keep looking but can't find it. I keep thinking that the day will come when he packs it with him in the morning along with the backpack slung over the shoulder--often with homework forgotten on his desk. For goodness sake, he starts high school in 3 short months.

I pray that the God who makes the beauty will mature my child quickly and that all will be well. But then, I am remembering this post from 4 years ago Does a 9-Year -Old-Think and I shutter to think it may never happen.

But, today I choose to laugh....

My Prayer

Prayer is vital to my life. I believe that it is heard and answered--whether or not to my liking. Often I tell God what I want and how he can accomplish this desire, need, want, whatever. Foolish? Yep! But, oh so human.

So, along with my regular prayers for friends' health, safe travels, the work of missionaries, children's wayward ways, solace and comfort for peoples' sorrows, my spiritual growth, and more, I have added another urgency for the time being.

Please, Lord, help Casey mature between now and the start of school in September. Please?!

Prepare him to do his homework (all of it) out of personal motivation rather than parental oversight and prodding. Teach him to be joyful in geometry, Spanish, English, California history, science--not just in gym class.  Let him please his teachers--even those who are difficult to please..and, heaven knows that there are these.

Help him to understand that yes, he is only 13 and in the 8th grade but....what he does now counts and helps to determine his future. How he performs in these classes dictates where he will be placed in high school. Give him that unnatural ability to see the future in terms of his achievement, effort and depth of focus and desire.

He still wants to build with his legos, explore the creek below the park, play challenging games on his DS, improve in karate--in short, do all those things 13 year olds should do with their time. But...today's kids are being robbed of their childhoods by adults who forget their own childhoods. They are taking classes where teachers advise parents at the start of the year that it will be to the students' advantage to hire a tutor that year.Why? Because in the past, this 7th grade class, was not taught until high school.

The freedom to be Tom or Huck is long gone, but the heart of the boy that lived in them still beats in the boy of 2011. So, although my prayer is that Casey will grapple with and grow in self-motivation in his school work and accomplishments, we will see that he still has time for the boy things.

So, that is my prayer right now--a growing maturity that still allows for the joys and fun of being a kid. I believe that my God wants that, too, and will hear my prayer with a smile and a "yes."

For the record, he did achieve this year. And..we are proud of him.

Teachers Make a Difference

I've been in a writing slump. Happens sometimes.  Not sure if it's because life suddenly becomes boring or because I miss the interesting stuff that surely happens all around me each day. Common sense tells me there are thousands of things to light a thought which in turn can trigger a muse. So...I think that I've just allowed a spell of lethargy to take over. Va bene (ok)...we need vacuums sometimes to give overworked brains a rest.

Now, I do want to share what I have been focused on this week. It is not a new thought nor earth shattering or unique to me. At the same time, it is not one that everyone shares. I hope to set that straight right now.

Mrs. Henetz 4th Grade

Teachers are important and they do make a difference in lives which means, ultimately, in changing the world. And...I am convinced that the vast majority of these changes and contributions are  positive and good. Most teachers are good at what they do. I know this from the perspective of having been a recipient of the wisdom of teachers and from having been a teacher, an observer and evaluator of teachers and, most importantly, a parent, past and present.

This past week I had reason to reflect on the teachers Casey has had in the last 7 years and realize that out of those 21 dedicated people, only 2 have been duds. This translates into two teachers who not only did not motivate him but instead squelched his enthusiasm for learning, damaged his self-confidence and  negatively impacted his performance.

His second grade teacher was such a one--for some reason she insisted that this very bright boy was "slow."  Fortunately, we were able to compensate for her by what we did at home. I have often wondered, though, what happens to children in the clutches of someone like she but who do not have compensating home environments. We lose kids this way--sometimes very early in their young lives.

Mrs. Hanna-Kinder

Then there are the ones who fall into the ranks of the truly gifted teacher--the one who magically reaches all the students, motivating performance high above the expectation. As I review Casey's school years, I am so pleased to realize that he has had at least 6 teachers who fall into this category--and there are two more candidates in his current 7th grade schedule. He has been fortunate.

Mrs. Kang-2nd Grade

One of this year's crop is his advanced algebra teacher (yes, in 7th grade--when did we/you take it?)  Last year the other of his two poor teachers was his advanced pre-algebra teacher who managed to demoralize Casey, he who at one time scored 600 out of 600 on the state math test, into doing so poorly that he was not recommended for the sequential 7th grade class--advanced algebra.

I lobbied with the vice-principal and counselor to put him into the class anyway, convincing them he deserved the chance. They struck a deal with him that if he did not have at least a B by the end of the first 6 weeks, he would need to repeat pre-algebra.

Mrs. Johnson-5th Grade

And this is where the new candidate for exceptional teacher comes into play. His algebra teacher has him turned on, excited and confident. He is currently carrying a 103.9% average for his work. She is the antithesis of his 6th grade teacher.

Yes, a teacher can make a great difference. We expect kids to have good attitudes but forget that often they will simply reflect the attitude of the adult at the front of the room.

Maestra Anna Maria and Agatha 3rd Grade Italy

And...I believe that he may well have two more such teachers in his life this year. If so, he is a very lucky boy.

The pictures on this post are of those teachers who have made a positive difference in Casey's life. I say thank you to each of you and know that your legacy lives in him.