I spent several hours yesterday and today in my 3rd grade son's class. Yesterday I was volunteering, helping students with some grammar assignments and helping them finish a craft project (papier-mache masks). Today was the end-of-the-year picnic so I came to play games and be an extra adult (mostly) helping the teacher.
I've been volunteering all year and have grown very fond of the kids; the reverse is also true. Many of the kids call me Uncle David, or Dad. I've shrugged off most of the banter but today realized there might be more underlying it than I thought.
I learned today that one kid's mom divorced her dad this year, and that another has one parent here and the other in a different country. I learned that the grandmother of one lives in a garage -- finished and very nice, the kid hastened to add, but a garage nonetheless. I know of several other family and housing issues as well.
It's certainly true that our public school teachers have great potential to make a lasting difference not just on an individual child but on a family and a community. The corollary is also true: parents have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the kids at their local school. I guarantee you that the love I have poured out on the kids in my son's class has made a difference, already, in their education and their quality of life.
It is here where I have such difficulty with homeschooling. My wife and I are fully committed to having our children in public school, and to walking with our children through that sometimes unpleasant journey. We know they may not get the best academic situations ... but that's not our number one priority. We are determined to live in our community, to partake of the life of the people who surround us.
Our senior pastor last week spoke about how holiness is not a boundary, a barrier that keeps things out, but how it comes from the center, as a means of influence. This is our philosophy, too: we believe in the power of God and in our ability as his children to influence those around us. We believe our children can do that as well, and that our children seeing us involved in their lives and those of their classmates will make a lasting impression on them and inspire them to make a difference also.
It may not happen ... but it strikes me that leadership is really all about love. I'm grateful that a group of 9-year-olds can teach me great leadership lessons even as I try to teach them some.
It is true that we are his hands and feet and therefore we must "go" and Jesus was a "go-er". I find myself wanting to be more "salty" than I am at times. I have to push myself out to pursue others and show interest with respect to other adults. (Why is loving kids easier?...aah, because they are so much fun!) It is easy for me to sit back and introspect. Love gets out and shows interest in others and engages.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, we walk through it all with our kids, showing and teaching along the way. "More is caught than taught" comes in to play as well as "you can't not teach." Be a miser and the kids will follow; be engaged and they will be more likely to engage others.
The next level for me is having more questions for people. I judge the success of being in those settings by how much I can have someone else talking about themself and then how much can I remember for the next time.