I watched him today
the Boy whose teacher said
had not made any progress
since September.
The Boy who found a friend
within seconds of
his socked feet hitting
the indoor playground.
The two becoming
engineers, innovative builders
with clear tubes, velcro
and a rolling ball.
The Boy asked questions
of the other one,
listening, head tilted up
lying on his stomach.
Climbing, bouncing
running, sliding
huddled intently
tuned in, present.
I watched him today
seeing his gifts
and knowing ...
that I will fight for them.
JCK
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jck, always remember that your gut will tell you who and what is worth believing--especially when it comes to your child. you're a great mother, and you'll fight. yep. i can tell you're scrappy---reminds me of me!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure which delighted me more - the image of the clear-sighted, lion-hearted mama in action or the deftly observed poem. Give this to the teacher!
ReplyDeleteI once heard that a good leader pays attention to the opinions of those around her - and then does what she feels is right.
ReplyDeletelisten to people, but do what YOU feel is right. Trust your instincts. No one knows your child better than you do, not even the so called experts.
It is such a shame when teachers don't look hard enough to see a child's unique gifts. I think that is a mom's most important job - to nuture, protect, and cherish those gifts. And fight for them, if necessary!
ReplyDeleteThe teacher is not seeing what you see. You will find one who can. Remember it's her, not boy.
ReplyDeleteMothers Roar.
I was in a similar situation when I was much older than The Boy. I was attending kindergarten and my teacher said to my mother, "I am so glad you love her for who she is." My mother was, as you might imagine, furious. I would have hoped that by now educators were learning that children often develop skills at different rates, and that different does not mean inferior. Keep fighting for The Boy.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you need to listen to your heart instead of listening to the teacher!
ReplyDeleteI don't envy the job of teachers, but when a parent is telling you, directly, what a child needs, how can you ignore that?
ReplyDeleteYou will fight--you're a great mom.
Sometimes they just don't see them, see their progress like we do.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad he has you.
All he has is you - you FIGHT girl! You know what is best - there is not one single person that will fight for your BOY like you will and you will do the right things. I wish you love and luck! Take care - Kellan
ReplyDeleteamen, amen, amen, amen.
ReplyDeleteI tell you, I cannot imagine saying to a parent that their child has made no progress. She is not looking hard enough. All kids make progress, just not necessarily according to adult time tables.
I worked in a school where the expectations were sky-high and I feel like I failed some of my students for not seeing all of them, just what I was told to look for.
Good for you for really SEEING boy.
IT is her, NOT boy. Obviously . I love that boy and I can just envision the little engineer constructing away.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful my friend.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you live in the moment and enjoy it with your son. Keep going! I've heard concerns from so many teachers that sometimes it's tempting to look at my kids as "projects" or "skill sets" to be worked on, instead of the joyous beings they are.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteOh there you go making me cry. Oh I love BOY so much. He reminds me of a few I have here...go fight.
ReplyDeleteThis is really, really lovely.
ReplyDeletebeautiful.
ReplyDelete{you}