A few weeks ago something magical happened.
I was blessed to spend the afternoon in the presence of one of my favorite people in the world....and by that I mean, every time I am in her presence, I stand in awe and wish I could stay and never leave.
She is teacher by trade, but more importantly she is a teacher by destiny. It is her very core, and the Lord has blessed her with amazing gifts.
I first fell in love with her when we traveled with our church to a Women of Faith conference in Atlanta. She is hilarious...and I mean in a really dry, sarcastic, speak the truth and mean it kind of way.
She has a love for education, and while I appreciated her passion for education, I kind of laid low at first, not knowing her take on homeschooling.
In my experience, "real" teachers either tolerate us homeschoolers or they hate us....I had never found a teacher by trade to truly be supportive, or let alone encouraging.
That was until I met her. Right away, she showed respect for my decision to homeschool. Not only that, but she became sort of a personal champion on my behalf. For instance, when the boys were doing microscope work I really felt like that needed to be hands on...but our pocketbook was not feeling the same way so purchasing one for home use was simply not an option. I went to our local co-op and was only able to find the "toy" like microscopes for younger children and then it dawned on me to try her.
She was able to check it out from their teachers resource center, and then loan it to me. She said, that while the teachers resource center was suppose to be available to parents in the county, that usually the staff balked at actually letting that happen, and that her signing it out would cut the red tape.
That was the first of many, in fact, I actually have a regular stack of books from her personal collection that we use based on our current topic.
But books and microscopes have nothing on what she gave me that afternoon in her classroom.
Here is that back story. My oldest, Crack, is just like me. We think and process things the same way. He can start to ask a question and I already know where he is going with it. When something doesn't make sense to him, I can usually pick out the exact point of confusion and then clarify it for him. Even in math, our brains work the same...we talk it out logically, and then put it on paper.
But, my precious Snake is totally opposite. Bless our hearts....after homeschooling this sweet boy for 6 years, I still don't know how his mind works. Well, actually, I do. It works just like my husbands. For example,I noticed about two years ago, that BIG textbooks overwhelmed him. It was almost like he doomed himself at the very start of the school year. It was an uphill battle....he couldn't just take a chapter at a time. He did much better when things were broken down in smaller segments. So, I ditched the 3 inch thick text books and started him on
AOP LifePacs. These contained the same information, but instead of one huge textbook, it was ten workbooks...which in Snake's eyes was doable.
But, even after making changes in other areas, I still sensed that I was missing something. Somehow, I had to bridge the gap between how I think and how he thinks. It once again seemed like a great time to glean from her vast knowledge and have her help me sort out what was so jumbled in my mind. So, after a few weeks of juggling calendars, out time was set.
First, you have to visualize her classroom...think Mr Magoriums Wonder Emporium, meets the Smithsonian, meets the Library of Congress. It is truly a WONDERful place, and truth be told, if she could teach all three of my kids, all the way through, I would sell my left kidney to make it happen. But, I digress. Her classroom alone makes me a better homeschooler. It makes me want to dig and find clues and seek truth. It makes me want to curl up on the couch and lock the door. But, this day it was to be resting place in the truest sense of the word.
If you don't homeschool, you might not understand this next part, but I find that whenever I doubt a current course of action or teaching style, I doubt every part of homeschooling. And when you doubt EVERY part of homeschooling, a public school teachers classroom is NOT where you want to be. My past experience with other teachers is that when they sense I have something troubling me, that you might as well throw out the BABY(homeschooling) with the BATH WATER(the singular problem)
Unless, of course, it is this teacher. This woman sat down at the table across from me, eye to eye, and said, "so, what is going on?"
I began to weep as I shared my struggles with her. Not because I was sad, but because I knew that this was the place that the Lord was going to do a great work. I knew that this woman, was going to be used by God, to open my blind eyes, and show me what I was missing.
And boy, did He show up. It was the most amazing interaction. I showed her some of his school work and shared what I was sensing. I shared the frustrations of looking him dead in the eyes and trying so hard to understand his view point, and just getting so frustrated that we both just needed a time out. I shared with her the strengths he has, and the interests that keep his attention. I shared with her what he hates, and what frustrates him.
And then, as she began to process and tell me her thoughts, it was like the well spring of knowledge gates flooded open....
She began to connect the dots...the same ones I saw....but that I COULD NOT connect. And suddenly it all made sense.
Suddenly I felt empowered.
Empowerment is, itself a funny thing. Nothing has really changed...only your viewpoint. It is going from backstage, nervous and alone, to the center stage, headlining the show. Really, it is all just about perspective.
So, today, I am joyful that one woman reached out and changed my perspective. That one woman looked at me, and said, "You are doing EVERY thing right. You noticed that something was not clicking, and you sought help and guidance. You are a wonderful mother and a great homeschooler."
Every once and awhile a girl just needs someone to be her Bridesmaid. A trusted soul to show her which foot goes in which shoe and which way her dress goes on....not because she doesn't know herself, but simply because she doesn't want to make a mess out of the miraculous.
So, here is to Mentors, or Bridesmaids, whatever you call them.
Just make sure you call on them because they not only make your day, they brighten your life.
