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March 30, 2007
Mom and a Half
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday. She was telling me the story of Mom she'd seen just recently.
It seems that the Mom was in a meeting my friend was in. She came up to her afterwards. "You were in this meeting in 1997," she said.
"Yes, that's the last time we were here," said my friend.
"I remember you," said the Mom. "I wanted to talk to you then, but I had just arrived from Mexico. I didn't know how to talk with you."
A few days ago, almost 10 years later, this Mom sat across a luncheon table and chatted with the lady she'd seen all those years before.
"I wanted so much to talk with you and I couldn't. I didn't know how," said the Mom.
"Yes, and look at you now. I'm so proud of what you have done in the last 10 years. Just think of all you've accomplished," said my friend.
I have friends who are teachers, administrators, supporters-educators all. Part of our life blood is to see people learn and grow. It doesn't matter their age, ethnicity, language or background. What we look for is the learning. I'd like to have met that Mom. She's someone I truly could respect.
Posted by Dr Joni at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2007
An Impressive Writer
When my kids were little we did a lot of reading. We also did a lot of listening and writing. It's funny how habits get engrained in kids and parents.
Carolyn is now in college. A couple of weeks ago she called with a request, “Mom, would you listen to my paper?”
“Sure,” I said. “What did you write a paper on?”
“Well, it isn’t written yet, but I want to know if you’ll listen to it when I finish it?”
“Sure,” I said again. “What do you think you’re going to write about?”
“I think it’ll be a comparison of several major writers and how their writing impacted the world.” She named a number of authors. I wondered how she was going to do all of this in eight pages, but she’s a clever girl.
A few days later she called again. “I’m emailing my paper,” she said. “I changed it some. I couldn’t fit all the authors in so I’m down to Harriet Beecher Stowe, Betty Freidan, and Jean-Jaques Rousseau. Would you read it please?”
I just did. I'm stunned. I knew it would be good. Her writing was good when she was little. Now it’s sophisticated, no, it's more than sophisticated. She not only compared their writing and the impact they made on the world, Rousseau's view of the rich government, Stowe's look at slavery, and Freidan's commentaries on women, but went on to deal with today's "authors." I put authors in quotes because she feels that there are fewer readers and more TV watchers so documentaries have become the way of getting across a message. The traditional written appoach isn't as easy to manage these days so Michael Moore, Al Gore, and others have taken to the air, at least the TV air, to make an impact on guns and global warming.
Well, what was an eight page paper turned into thirteen, but it made for interesting reading and more importantly an insight into my daughter that I hadn't had before.
As a parent you raise your children to be independent thinkers. It's a surprise and pleasure sometimes when you recognize how good a job you've done.
Posted by Dr Joni at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2007
Colors: Drug Store Style
This week I was in the drug store waiting in line. Why do there seem to be lines for everything? I suppose lines are another subject for another day, but standing around waiting does force you to take the time to look around and watch what is going on.
Behind me in line were a man and his son. The boy was about four. They grow so fast at those ages it’s hard to tell exactly. The dad was making good use of both his time in line and the boy’s. Any parent knows how hard it can be to keep an active child contained in one place for any time. This dad used the time to their advantage.
The boy was looking at all the bottles and boxes on the shelves. Dad was asking him to find the blues ones, then the red ones. The boy was touching the shelf just under a blue Tylenol box and a red drug store brand. He touched carefully so he wouldn’t knock them off. He was very quick to find blues and reds. Greens weren’t too bad either. I thought he was going to be thrown when Dad asked him to find the orange one. The little boy hesitated a few seconds, then pointed to a bright orange bottle of cough syrup.
Some preschool/kindergarten teacher is going to love this Dad and his child. I was ready to give him a hug myself. First his son was delightfully engaged while we stood in line. Then he was delightfully engaged with his Dad. And third this kiddo was going to know all his colors including purple and puce before he ever arrived at school. That’s one state standard this child won’t need to worry about.
What creative ways can you find to engage your child or grandchild while waiting in line?
Posted by Dr Joni at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2007
Dancing Involves Students and Parents in Learning
Last evening I was to provide a workshop for a group of parents. I arrived and found the parking lot to be full. Now I think what I do is valuable and helpful for parents in helping their children to learn. I am also realistic enough to know that evenings are busy for parents. Turn outs to talk about report cards might not be top on their list when faced with a choice of a rerun of the Simpsons or a night out at the school.
However, there was no denying there were a great number of people sitting in the cafeteria. I looked at my watch wondering if I was late. No, I was about 45 minutes early. Maybe this was pickup for afterschool?
When I got out of my car, the principal met me on the sidewalk. "We're having a dance exhibition for the parents. We're hoping they'll watch the kids and stay for your presentation. Come on in and watch."
I was delighted. I told her about a movie I had seen a couple of years ago with a teacher and kids from New York City in ballroom dance contests. They were all middle school aged kids and they had learned a variety of steps and moves. They were great. So were these kids. They displayed their box step talents, turns, and moves. There was some watching of the feet and, of course, the girls were mostly taller than the boys, but the results were wonderful.
Groups of three and four pairs of dancers performed and then all the partners moved into a circle around the audience and danced the last set. It was fun for everyone.
At the end of the performance the teacher made a couple of comments. She said there had been some initial resistance to learning how to dance. Probably a number of gigles and a lot of gumbling, but the kids had eventually agreed. The result? Well, you could see it for yourself-a packed house watching their children have a good time.
Posted by Dr Joni at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)