It's that time of year--parent teacher conferences. It's a great opportunity to sit down with your child's teacher and talk on-on-one about your child. Being a mother of six, I have been to my share of conferences. I have learned to ask my kids ahead of time, "What do you think your teacher is going to say? Do you think there are going to be any surprises? (In other words, is there anything you want to tell me first? Or any problems you feel you are having?)
When I asked my youngest that yesterday she looked at me completely shocked. "Mom, you know me. I love school and I'm a good student!"
This year, however, I discovered I was in for a surprise. As I sat and waited for my turn with the teacher, I looked at the display of school work on the walls. The assignment was a writing piece entitled "I am thankful for....". The assignment began with brainstorming ideas using a web. One web caught my eye when I saw the word "God" inside one of the circles. I smiled. As I continued to look, I saw God's name on many of the assignments, and also the words "my faith", "my church", "my religion classes". I continued to smile as I read the papers written from these webs explaining why they were thankful for God in their lives.
My mood elevated as I read. I realized that no matter how hard some people try to take God out of the public schools, they will never succeed. God is alive and well and living in the hearts of these children-- and that is something that I am quite thankful for. I wanted to give a shout of "Thanks!" to all the parents who have made God a priority in their children's life. Keep up the good work! The future really does depend on it.
-Susan
