This morning, I was thinking about my daughter and her talent with art. I was reflecting on how when she gets a pencil and paper in her hands, she lights up and I am amazed at what she will end up drawing. As I cycled through the amazing things she can do, I began to think on how often she tells me she feels dumb at times. It seems that so many other kids her age are ahead of her academically and they can sometimes make her feel dumb when she doesn't process things in the same way.
This got me to thinking of my own father. My whole life, I heard him talk down upon himself. He would always say how dumb he was. He considered himself a poor reader and just generally slow. Now, you have to understand something. My father graduated high school with his goals already set in his mind. He joined the Navy so that he could go to college. As soon as he got out of the Navy, he enrolled in college and went on to get a MASTERS degree in Education. This was a means to another end....he wanted to become a High School football coach....which he did indeed do. He was so successful that he took his team to state twice and won both times. He even earned the title of Coach of the Year for the state of New Mexico one year.
A dumb man he was not. Neither is Sierra.
What got me thinking of my father while thinking of Sierra? My dad was also an artist. He painted the most vivid oil paintings as well as made the most beautiful jewelry. He could see art in just about anything. He once made me a silver and turquoise bracelet out of forks. I still have it today and if you looked at it, you would never be able to tell!!
School did not come easy for him, nor does it for Sierra. Is it because they lack any sort of intelligence? No!! It is just that their brains are not wired to see things in linear form. This is the issue with public school. The public school teacher lacks the time and resources to teach the individual child according to their needs. I am not talking bad about the teacher...she/he works with what they have. In a classroom of 20+ students, it is just not possible. Students like Sierra and my dad end up floating along in the system, feeling swept away in a tide, feeling like the dummy without a lifejacket.
Since homeschooling Sierra, I have been able to observe where her strengths and weaknesses are. I have seen the damage done to her in being in public school...her self confidence is less than what it should be....her feeling as a failure. I have been able to start taking those chains that are weighing her down off of her and make her see herself for who she is. I can also put value where it belongs and take away the junk. Will she ever be a scientist? No!! Do we put a lot of emphasis on science? No, we don't.
Does Art = Dumb?? Of course not. Sierra is one of the smartest people I know. She doesn't fit into a box....she soars in the clouds.
This got me to thinking of my own father. My whole life, I heard him talk down upon himself. He would always say how dumb he was. He considered himself a poor reader and just generally slow. Now, you have to understand something. My father graduated high school with his goals already set in his mind. He joined the Navy so that he could go to college. As soon as he got out of the Navy, he enrolled in college and went on to get a MASTERS degree in Education. This was a means to another end....he wanted to become a High School football coach....which he did indeed do. He was so successful that he took his team to state twice and won both times. He even earned the title of Coach of the Year for the state of New Mexico one year.
A dumb man he was not. Neither is Sierra.
What got me thinking of my father while thinking of Sierra? My dad was also an artist. He painted the most vivid oil paintings as well as made the most beautiful jewelry. He could see art in just about anything. He once made me a silver and turquoise bracelet out of forks. I still have it today and if you looked at it, you would never be able to tell!!
School did not come easy for him, nor does it for Sierra. Is it because they lack any sort of intelligence? No!! It is just that their brains are not wired to see things in linear form. This is the issue with public school. The public school teacher lacks the time and resources to teach the individual child according to their needs. I am not talking bad about the teacher...she/he works with what they have. In a classroom of 20+ students, it is just not possible. Students like Sierra and my dad end up floating along in the system, feeling swept away in a tide, feeling like the dummy without a lifejacket.
Since homeschooling Sierra, I have been able to observe where her strengths and weaknesses are. I have seen the damage done to her in being in public school...her self confidence is less than what it should be....her feeling as a failure. I have been able to start taking those chains that are weighing her down off of her and make her see herself for who she is. I can also put value where it belongs and take away the junk. Will she ever be a scientist? No!! Do we put a lot of emphasis on science? No, we don't.
Does Art = Dumb?? Of course not. Sierra is one of the smartest people I know. She doesn't fit into a box....she soars in the clouds.
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