What EXACTLY is it that makes me absolutely cringe to be back in a school room???
I know, maybe it's the fact that I spent 12 years in school and another 7 years in college classes (2 bachelor's degrees, MA, PhD). That's not to count the years I taught in school or in the university.
My poor deluded 1st grader (Luke) went off to class the first day and I thought ... "You have NO clue what you have just signed up for, the YEARS ahead of you."
But I digress. This morning, I had a parent teacher conference with Mrs. Ryan. She's Kaley's 4th grade teacher. She is WONDERFULLY amazing. Love her. She is kind and respectful and most of all, she likes my kid. She was telling me all the lovely things Kaley is.
Kaley is so tiny that her classmates all want to take care of her, help her out. And truthfully, she can use all the help she can get. Mrs. Ryan is an experienced enough teacher to know that it's OK for a fellow student to help out. She said Kaley and Lydia (the next seat over) are always talking, but it's always on point, never about the latest movie or whatever.
Kaley IS having a bit of struggle with some of her reading/writing assessments ... but we knew that going in. She learns just a bit slower in this area and I'm so thrilled that she has Mrs. Ryan, someone who "gets" it.
So I left this teacher conference with all the confidence in the world that Kaley is right where she needs to be. That is HUGE news. Before sending the kids to public school, SHE was one of my main concerns. But seems that God has put her right where she needs to be.
How often can we say that in life: We made the right choice! So I'm going to enjoy my cup of hot tea and this feeling of doing *something* right. But I'd better drink fast ... I know these feelings are fleeting. ;)
I love that you shared these thoughts. And I also like Mrs. Ryan and that she's a piece of your beautiful life puzzle!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin came home from the first day of kindergarten and told my aunt, "I prayed and prayed about school, and thank God that is over"....like Luke and his mama, if he only knew :) Hope you enjoyed your tea and the warm glow of "happy".
ReplyDeleteAfter remarrying and moving my children to a new town, I had to reconcile that I had pulled them from a tiny cocoon of a Lutheran school (only about 15 kids per class and only one section of each grade), into the public schools of a much larger school district.
ReplyDeleteI agonized. I internally debated. I prayed. I gnashed my teeth. I toured Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran and nondenominational schools. I looked into open enrolling to a nearby, smaller district. I considered homeschooling.
Finally, the Lord had had enough. He said (and I quote), "What? I can safely lead a million Israelis through the desert, but I cannot take care of 2 children in public school? TRUST ME."
And so, with a trembling, quaking heart, I enrolled my children into the schools of the town I had left 10 years prior, swearing I would never be back; purposefully to avoid these very schools.
Yeah. It's been my experience that God can be trusted. And He always gets the last laugh. LOL