A whole new perspective

Last night I was driving home from a school meeting and I had this feeling that I sometimes experience as a parent. I find myself stopped dead in my tracks, very aware that I am, in fact, only one piece in the big puzzle of their lives! In my children's school, they actually have regular parent evenings where you can be part of a discussion about how things are going and the usual parent-teacher stuff, but more importantly, you can actually be part of shaping the class. For example, last evening we considered the whole issue of grading, homework, and how these 6th graders can be empowered in all of the above areas. My daughter's teacher impressed me with his openness, his honesty about institutional limitations, but probably the aspect that stood out most clearly to me was the fact that her teacher is willing to actually have these middle school students be active partners in dialogue about such issues.

I know, you are probably thinking, "that's not realistic...or most schools can't do that." What I brought home with me last night was a very vivid reminder of one of the most basic concepts of learning: the value of a question. If one of the parents had not brought this up originally, would we just have gone with the status quo? Don't I ultimately want my children to be able to question and from that, figure out what really works for them in life?

We took a great family vacation last February to visit the Grand Canyon. Our first trip to see it, but not our last. The impact is staggering. I was almost dizzy trying to take in its magnitude. It sort of reminds me of how it feels to hike hand in hand with my children along this canyon called education. I have to remember to look up, look around, and always know where my feet are.

Through the Looking Glass

"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." (Anais Nin, French-born American writer).

Last night I was enjoying the rare luxury of having my husband and children fix dinner for me. They were in the kitchen making homemade pizza and I was sitting in the family room relaxing near the crackling fire. Pure bliss! I looked up and noticed that I had a perfect view into the kitchen where they were cooking. Now what you need to know is this:I was looking through the sliding glass doors of my new family room, all the way into the kitchen window near the deck. It was raining gently outside on this cool fall evening...the warmth of kitchen light glowing through two different sets of windows all the way to my heart.

Sometimes looking through glass can distort the subject at hand. For me, seeing my beautiful children and husband laughing while they were prepping the pizza fixings, unaware of me taking it all in...the scene was so clear.

Connecting the Dots

Do you remember those "Connect the Dots" books we used to have as kids? Find the number 1, then connect that to number 2, and so on and so on. It all seemed so tidy. When you had done the obligatory searching, you were left with a recognizable design. Don't you wish it really worked that way? My life as a mom of two children entering adolescence has me contemplating how simple it would be if only we could follow the dots to our completed design. Instead, I am facing one of those "uncoloring book" designs that give you a page crammed full of geometric illusions. You know...you have to stare at it like one of those ink blot psychological tests and then make choices about what color to put where. It can either give you a headache, or leave you feeling very creative!

I had a very dear friend come over today to help me get this blog thing going. It reminded me of how much like my children's daily experience this might be: leaping out there into the unknown, feeling ready and excited yet unsure of what I am getting myself into. Will I like it? Will I be any good? What will people think of me? After some reassurance from my friend, I decided to take the plunge. Just do it, says the ad. Just do it, says the mom to the kids. Just do it, says me to myself! Here we go...