So happy to Celebrate with Ruth Ayres this weekend!
I want to celebrate one of my kids today. One of my wonderful children is a little extra unique. He’s smart, creative, comical, helpful, talented, a struggling reader, fidgety, a nonconformist, sensitive and loud. If you haven’t met him, watching this will give you a good idea of him. (If you’re his parent, watching it might make you cry and hope.)
The other day I overheard someone else use the word tricky to describe him. They hadn’t met him yet, but it was my fault because sometimes I have labeled him “tricky” in order to try to describe him to others. But I think I’ve been using the wrong word. It’s not that he’s never mischievous… it’s just that that isn’t what I mean by tricky. The nuance of what I mean is lost in the translation from my brain to others’ ears. I mean unique. I mean not interested in the status quo. I mean challenges you to be a better person. I mean sensitive but not quiet.
The other day, Mr. Thought and I were talking about how to make sure our son starts off his new school on the right foot.
“He’s not tricky.” Mr. Thought said. “Well, sometimes he is, but that’s not the point.”
We both thought for a moment. “He’s just fueled by love.” My husband explained, “He needs to know he’s loved.”
I don’t usually speak in hashtags, but come on. This is #truth.
So, I have a new way to talk about my amazing kid. He is fueled by love. He deserves it.
And I think I have new way to talk about all kids, right? Who isn’t fueled by love? Who doesn’t deserve it? What does it mean? It means give every kid the benefit of the doubt, set kind limits, give second chances, again and again. Take a deep breath, let it go. Don’t make compliance your learning goal. Look around at your students and get to know them. Please. They are fueled by love.
On a Thought 
can we forward this to someone so that every teacher reads this in the next couple of weeks? I love your posts.
Karen Foard kfoardLC@comcast.net Laughing is good exercise. It’s like jogging on the inside.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
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Feel free to share. I’d love the message to spread. 🙂 thank you so much for your kind words.
Every student, every adult, deserves a do-over each day and, for some, each moment of the day. Let compassion guide the way.
Oh, what a lovely post about what every single person needs, but especially the students in our classrooms. Here’s to a great beginning for your guy and lots of teachers who understand that he’s fueled by love.
“Fueled by love” – such a caring perspective. I hope that your amazing kid has an amazing experience at school and he will receive all the love he needs and more.
When you said “tricky,” I thought, tricky to understand, And your message is one that needs to be heard by teachers again and again.
” … give every kid the benefit of the doubt, set kind limits, give second chances, again and again. Take a deep breath, let it go. Don’t make compliance your learning goal. Look around at your students and get to know them. Please. They are fueled by love.”
Beautiful.
Ona, what a great message to start off school-Let’s send this out so all teachers can understand that students need to be fueled by love.
I love this post. Thank you for sharing. I think I will stick that last paragraph at my desk at school. This is such a truth.