December 17, 2011

Yesterday was a big day for my boy.

He lost his first tooth, received an award, and had opening night of their first play.

I'll post pictures of all three events over the next couple of days.

Today's focus:  Awards Assemblies.

Assemblies in general have been a hot topic in our house this past week.

My third grade daughter was devastated when she did not receive a letter home to parents informing them their child would receive an award.

These assemblies started in the first grade--she knew what letter was in the envelope.

She has been invited several times before.

She was completely crushed that she didn't make "Honor Roll."

I was a little confused being that she received all 5's (Advanced) and 4's (Proficient) and only two 3's (Basic) in sub-standards.

Her dad and I had been pleased with her progress!

The award talk intensified the next day when our first grade son brought home an awards letter.

There were tears all over again because he got two 3's too she argued.

She was right, he did.

I spoke to the teacher to ask specifically what honor roll requirements were.

Now we know--and my daughter was so close and knows what she needs to do differently next time.

She was brave the day of her awards assembly and did not cry as her name was never called.

Yesterday I sat in the audience waiting to hear my son called to the stage.

He received an Academic Achievement Award for his Improved Reading.

The boy is passionate about books now and eagerly is taking 6 to 10 Accelerated Reader tests a week.

His confidence has increased as has his ability.

I was proud of his report card as well as the award!

The Administration proceeded to the Honor Roll certificates.

As more and more names were called--the couple behind me made the comment:
"There are more kids on the stage than there are in the chairs--the kids in the chairs are losers.
They don't have what it takes to make the honor roll."

I turned around with a look that I'm not sure was more disgust or disbelief.

Then I tried to remember my power verse over Thanksgiving week:

Psalm 141:3-4

"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.  Do not incline my heart to any evil thing."

Then I got up and walked away.

I am not a confrontational person at all by nature--

but my kid was in a chair.

I was fuming and I needed to vacate these persons presence.

Then I stewed and stewed, talked to my best friend, my husband and realized these kids God gave me--are just who I need them to be.

I have worked hard my entire life and always strive to please.

I put in extra effort when I needed to because my desire was to make my parents proud.

Most of the time, academically--I'm sure I did.

But academically, my kids are who they are.

I monitor homework, read with them at night, study spelling words. . .

but I am not them.

Ultimately, they will perform in the classroom the way they were built to perform.

The End.

I'm a teacher by nature.

I'm a teacher in life.

My goal for all my students is success.

But that success might not look the same to each one of the students.

My own children may not "measure up" to the high standards their school has set in terms of Honor Roll this time, but that doesn't lessen their accomplishment--the one we praised them for before.

How or why should it be different just because the "school" did not recognize what they did.

That couple behind me made me very sad.

I've been battling my own thought in regards to education and my job as a teacher the past several months.

It's not so much the job I am growing disheartened by...

it's the changes the state keeps imposing.

It's this big push for high test scores and there seems to be less and less time for the "fun stuff"

we used to do to connect with kids and find their passions.

It's this idea that a child's success is measured by only their test scores.

What happened to children with good character and high moral standards?

Where are the awards for that?

My goal for my own children is not that they be these academic scholars that get in to Ivy League schools.  They can be, and I would be fine with that--but my ultimate goal for my kids is that they find personal success.  The kind that can't be measured by report cards, or awards assemblies.

I want them to have a heart for the needy, to have compassionate hearts, to speak up for those that might not be heard, to serve, to love like Jesus did.

I feel like the message these assemblies sometimes suggest at an ever so young age is

"You are not good enough."

But Jesus tells us,

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 

That is more than enough.

Always.