Today’s Haiku:
Family Life Metaphysics
FLE Tangent
Far Beyond
Reproduction
What would Jesus Do?
Summer is just around the corner, and in elementary schools
across America
right now, the same thing is happening: the kids have lost their minds. This is especially true in the 5th
grade at my school, where the students are about the complete their elementary
school careers.
Fellow 5th
grade teacher: “Mr. Lin, are your kids acting crazy also?”
Mr. Lin:
“Whew, I thought it might have been just my kids. Yeah, they’re insane right now. It’s like
they’ve forgotten how to listen to directions.”
Yes, it was time to have a discussion with the kids. No, not just my kids; all 96 5th
graders at my elementary school needed a talking to. They needed to understand they had to pass
the most important SOL they would ever take: the “Following Directions”
SOL. At lunch on Friday, we made a team
decision to gather the students together so we could all make it through the
last few days of school while accomplishing all we needed to get done… and,
just as importantly, keeping all of our respective sanities intact.
Student A (calling
out): “Why are we here?”
Student B: “Yeah, are we in trouble?”
Student C: “Are we having Family Life?”
Since we had been separating the boys and girls for FLE, a
buzz went through the crowd.
Mr. Lin: “Yup,
we’re having Family Life right now.”
Student D: “WHAT?!”
Student E, F, and G
(together): “AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”
Mr. Lin (holding up
hand to silent the raucous crowd): “We’ve
discussed this before; here at our school, we’re a family. And, we’re doing life together. So yes, we’re having a Family Life discussion
right now.”
We began on to discuss our various roles – teacher, student,
adult, and child. In the end, the
teachers broke down the expectations: as
students, they are expected to be able to follow directions that are there to
protect them and help them achieve their goals.
Mr. Lin: “Following
directions is the easiest – and most important – SOL that you will take in your
lives. It’s a skill that you will
utilize every day of your lives, no matter who you are. Take a moment and think; who doesn’t have to
follow rules?”
Dozens of hands went up, and with each person they named,
the students received a greater understanding that no person is exempt from
following directions. One by one they
began to realize that all of us – even the President – had rules to
follow. Then, a clever student brought
up a person who caused me to consider how I would answer for a moment. Not because I didn’t have an answer; rather,
it was because I wanted to be careful about how I would answer him without
jeopardizing my career in public education:
“Mr. Lin, I know someone who
didn’t have to follow any rules. That
person is Jesus Christ.”
In a moment that seemed like eternity in my head, I
considered how to answer this question, or even if I should. Should meet this head on, or should I run
from this divine appointment?
“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the
righteous are as bold as a lion.” – Proverbs 28:1
To be continued…
LOL! This kid is smart...and there are a couple of answers you could have given (all a majorly theological) so I'm psyched to hear what you came up with in the public school setting. :)
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