1987

Twenty-five years ago today, that sixteen-year-old boy on the right took that fifteen-year-old girl on the left out on their first date.  After the date, he asked her to be his girlfriend.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Stories from where?

Some of you may find this equally as interesting as Hector and I have found it...

 

As most of you know, Samuel is attending a charter school through the public school system.  When he first started attending this school several weeks ago, he was reading Charlotte's Web for his Literature class.  But two weeks ago, he was assigned to read a story out of a book entitled Stories From the Bible.  From where?  Yes, the Bible.  Two weeks ago he read the story of Ruth and Naomi.  Interesting...   Last week, he was assigned to read the story of David and Goliath.  Even more interesting...

 

So, tonight I clicked on his curriculum list for the upcoming school week, and I saw that I had this message attached to the Literature lesson for the week:

 

Lesson Notes

A distinction needs to be made between, on one hand, teaching the Bible as a guide to belief, and, on the other hand, teaching stories from the Bible as literature. Teaching the Bible as a guide to belief is a religious task that belongs to the family (if the family so chooses) or the church. Teaching stories from the Bible as literature—which is the goal of these lessons—is an educational task intended to promote cultural literacy. As E. D. Hirsch, Jr. explains in

The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (2nd edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993), “No one in the English-speaking world can be considered literate without a basic knowledge of the Bible.” Stories, characters, and expressions from the Bible are woven into the fabric of English, in everything from a sportscaster’s casual allusion to an uneven match as a “David and Goliath contest” to the poetry of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.

Like I said, I find it very interesting how the school has worked this into the curriculum.  Yet another reason that I am loving this new school.

Change

After weeks of trying to decide how to begin this post, I have come to realize that the best way to share this news is to simply come right out with it...

A few weeks ago, Samuel had his last day at the school he has attended since Kindergarten.  He was accepted into a wonderful charter school that allows him to take classes online, at home.  This new charter school is providing Samuel with a home-based public school education.  He follows the same curriculum as other students in traditional public schools.  He has teachers who conduct webinars of his classes, and Samuel, along with all of his other classmates, attend online classes daily.  He has monthly field trips with all of the children in his class.  And so far, things have been going really well!

This was not a decision that we made lightly.  It was a decision made with a lot of prayer, and tears, and heavy hearts and minds.  For several years now, we knew that Samuel was not thriving in his current school setting.  It had nothing to do with the school, or the teachers, or the staff.  It had to do with the fact that not every kid fits inside a box.  And it had everything to do with the fact that ultimately we needed to find something for Samuel that was going to be the very best educational experience long-term for him.

So, I get to be at home during the day, all alone, with just Samuel now.  This is something that I have not experienced in years.  I was scared at first.  I can admit it.  But it has been amazing!  I get to discuss literature with him.  We talk about great pieces of art.  We talk about why learning how to add and subtract numbers with decimals in them will serve him well later in life, like when he has to pay for things or make change.  But honestly, the absolute coolest thing for me has been seeing the transformation that has been occurring in my son.  The shyness and anxiety and uncertainty is slowly fading.  And this really smart, confident kid is starting to come out.  I have seen the sparkle return to his eyes.

I've had so many wonderful moments in the past few weeks that have affirmed for me that we made the right decision for Samuel.  I am truly thankful for each gift of affirmation that I have received.  It's not always easy to make such a big change.  I struggled with feelings of doubt at first as to whether or not we were making the right decision.  And I struggled with whether or not I should write this blog.  But ultimately I decided to write it because I know that so many of you reading this have listened to me for many years now talk about Samuel and school.  You've listened to me.  You've offered your prayers, your advise, and your words of encouragement.  It has all been tremendously helpful, and greatly appreciated.

Embracing the change,
Patty

My Hero

Avery asked me yesterday if I knew what the coolest thing about her Grandpa is. To Avery, the coolest thing about her Grandpa is that he had a choice... a choice to stand up for what was right, to fight for freedom, and to help other people, or to do nothing. Avery said that she was happy that her Grandpa made the right choice, because when he did, he became her hero.

 

To my children's Grandpa, I say thank you. Thank you for your service to our country. And thank you for being a hero to us all.

 

For Better or Worse

Crazy kids... We thought that we knew everything there was to know about marriage.  After all, we were in love.  What more was there to know?  As it turns out, there was a lot more to know.

If anyone tried to warn us at the time about just how difficult it could be, we didn't listen.  We plunged head first into marriage on August 6, 1994, at the ripe old age of 22.

Eighteen years have come and gone, and in that time we've seen our fair share of good times, bad times, times of sickness, times of good health, times when we didn't have to go without much of anything, and times when we were just plain poor.  Our marriage is not perfect.  But we've stayed committed to our life together, for better or worse.  Through the good times and the bad, through it all, I remain extremely grateful for each new year that we have together.  Happy Anniversary, my love.