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January 2011: Keep Reaching for the Sky



When I returned to work last week and began to go through my email, I had the pleasure of receiving this message from Miriam, my dear friend and a fellow teacher; it was a perfect back-to-work message and Miriam gave me the go-ahead to share it with you:


I'm helping a 9 year old girl who has very low muscle tone all along her right side, and it affects her eye-sight as well. She works very slowly but efficiently with this side of her body. We are in art class. They are painting birds on butcher paper, and now the main forms are finished and they are learning how to outline their images with fine paintbrushes. I ask her and her table partner if they have traced the birds or if they drew them free hand. They answer that they painted them free-hand. They are really quite good, and I say, "Wow, that is really impressive. I don't think I could have done so well." The little girl I'm helping looks up at me, and says, "You know, just because you are an adult, doesn't mean you can't keep reaching for the sky." 

One of the life skills that we want to foster for all students is that of perseverance. When I read this message, I was impressed with how clear this young girl was on the topic of perseverance and of all the adults in her life who must have contributed to her sense of possibility. Her message between the lines to Miriam: the only reason you can’t is because you simply stopped trying. 


 Helping children persevere takes patience, loads of positive reinforcement, and, above all, the chance to try again. When your child is ready to give up, suggest to them instead to just take a break. If they are certain that they “will never get it all”, let them know that it is just as significant to “get some.” Instead of allowing the feeling of defeat caused by people who are “better” (in whatever it may be), promote the importance of inspiration: people who are great inspire us to be better. Learning is a journey; we will all reach different destinations at different times; what counts is that we embark and keep moving forward.


Happy New Year. May 2011 be a year in which we all keep reaching for the sky.




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