Today my 2nd grader saw this quote and stopped in his tracks.
“Mom, I know him! He was married when he was 13, he had 4 sons, Martin Luther King Jr got his ideas from him, he was very skinny, he was put in jail & he didn’t eat. He was Indian. His first name starts with an M and his last name starts with a G. He walked tons of miles. He fought for Civil Rights. He wasn’t poor or rich, he was famous. The British said you have to pay extra money for salt-he didn’t pay it-he just got the salt himself.”
Wow!
To say I was impressed would be a slight understatement. You see, it wasn’t that long ago that I was seriously contemplating putting my son on ADHD meds. He was having a rough time in school, not able to focus in class, getting out of his seat a lot, and getting in trouble. It didn’t help that there were 19 boys in his class of 28, that’s a lot of testosterone! I spoke with his teacher and we both decided he needed to be evaluated for ADHD, as he was exhibiting many of the symptoms. He was seen by his pediatrician and everything was put in motion… then something unexpected happened.
One of his teachers mailed us a thank-you card for a gift he had given her. The card was bounced back to her, because the school had our old address. She told the school that we moved and they contacted us telling us we had to switch schools.
You see, we had moved but we didn’t tell the school. I was concerned about switching schools. Our son has some sensory processing issues and I didn’t think he’d have an easy transition, plus his old school is ranked higher…and I wanted to keep him there. (Not to mention changing speech therapists). Come to find out, he is THRIVING at his new school. The school that is ranked lower, is teaching him more than his “higher ranked” former school. The class is smaller, there’s a teacher’s aide, he hasn’t had any behavioral issues, he is focusing in class. It’s been the best move we could have made.
His new teacher has not had any problems with him, he is focused, quiet in class, even getting reward tickets for doing well. His reading has improved significantly, and his vocabulary is expanding. He’s found a class and a teacher that accepts him, and he is flourishing.
If that first teacher hadn’t reported us, he’d still be at his old school and he’d be on ADHD meds right now. So, what I thought was going to be a total disaster, has been a real blessing … a Mixed Blessing!
” When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength …”
Special thank-you to my friend Linda, for always encouraging me to follow my heart!
