Distinct Arrows

Before you send your child off to school, instill in them the importance of listening to the teacher. This includes respecting the teacher. I was recently reminded by a previous co-worker I had when we lived outside of the United States, of how she would hear me say to my children each morning, “be a good listener”. When she became a grandmother and helped with caregiving, she told me, she started telling her grandchild what she heard me say, daily to my children. You never know who is listening and what impact you have on others, whether positive or negative. If you allocate just a little time, a lunch hour, a day off from work to visit your child at school you can help change a negative outlook on school or it can encourage your child to achieve greater things. Often, young children want to show off their mom or dad to their teacher or friends. They are proud of you being their parent. As adults, we should always display respect towards our child’s teachers. Your child should never see you yelling or using profane language toward a teach or principal. It is not advisable to talk about the teacher or staff negatively at home, in the hearing of your children. The teachers, principal, and school staff need your support. I encourage you to seek out any concern the teacher has for your child concerning their academics and/or discipline. We must realize the child will attempt to treat his teacher the same as he sees you doing. Please make it your goal to teach your child to respect teachers and other school administrators. There are no quick fixes. There are children who have been clinically diagnosed and need assistance to learn. There are also children who need recurring medications. We truly need to use pre-caution in using these long-term medications that influence whether you as the parent, believe your child can learn. This can also result in strong school documentation and unfortunate labeling of the child. Our son was involved in a bullying situation. One day after school, he was attacked right in our housing community, after getting off the bus. As a result, the school principal decided our son needed to see a Child Psychologist and possibly be medicated. Furthermore, the principal said that he could not return to school unless he was serviced by a Child Psychologist and medicated although our son was attached. We strongly believed, the principal was punishing our son for being a victim. This was a very painful journey for me. I did not want to comply because I knew nothing was wrong with our son. Due to my husband’s profession, we felt it was best to follow through with the principal’s request. Our son continuously asked me not to put him on the medication. He said, “There is nothing wrong with me.” It was such a difficult and complex situation. He was an eighth grader and I had to give him medication and watch him take it each morning. To hear him say, “Mom there is nothing wrong with me.” It definitely made me feel bad. One day, while his dad was away working, he begged me to allow him to come off the medication and he would prove nothing was wrong with him. I was hesitant yet agreed to his request. I was engaged with his activity, observed his progress and covered him with lots of prayer. Our son never took the medication again. I am not saying our son was a perfect child. He was active and became bored easily if the subject matter did not grab his attention. There were highs and lows. He would stay up all night to complete an assignment, then leave it at home or miss the bus regularly and the drive to his school was an hour away. At other times he would say to me, “I am not going back to football and I am not staying after school for practice.” My response would be, “You better not come home on the early bus” and he understood just what I meant. It was during times like these, I had to parent hard. Despite some of the challenges, our son continued to improve each school year in academics and sports. In high school, he earned a Team Captain position and placed well in wresting. He also worked with the British Staff at his International School. The counselor and principal expressed to me, how well he was liked by the staff and shared that they were not easy to please. Every minute, some children are born with life threatening, incurable diseases. There are many findings of these cases. Some of the attacks against a child’s life happens in various stages after birth and can be linked to vaccinations. Diagnoses have been made following extended examinations and determination. In some findings these diagnoses are autism, asthma, and ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). I believe there is a need for vaccinations. Vaccinations control diseases. After the diagnosis, I encourage you to educate yourself about the diagnosis and believe God for healing, good health, and wisdom in how to care for your child. When our daughter was in high school, I dialogued with her Guidance Counselor regularly to ensure our child was on track for college. During one conversation, I shared how I was concerned about our son before he entered college and how well he would do. After he determined his interest of study, I noticed he was doing better in college than previous schooling. Our daughter’s counselor shared that highly intelligent children can struggle more in school if the subjects do not interest them. Our son graduated from college with honors. He would often call and share the intriguing information he was learning. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in International Relations. He was previously a supervisor at a Learning Center. However, he is now an English teacher in China,