Believing in someone adds confidence

As I listened to the girls provide me with a rundown of their day, I was amazed at the progress one of my daughters has been making with her schoolwork. For her, school has always been difficult. Driven by nature and the world around her, the thought of sitting idle in a classroom, falling victim to a barrage of meaningful facts being thrown at her was pointless and to be quite simple, a waste of her time. This behavioral attribute alongside a rather severe learning disability created barriers which the child simply couldn’t overcome. Having all this in mind we decided to mix things up a bit this year. Being committed to the success of our children, my wife and I decided to remove the girls from the traditional learning environment and embark upon the homeschool journey.

Following conducting exhaustive research into which curriculum would not only meet our children’s needs, educationally, and provide flexibility with true learning we chose a program and excitedly set the day of starting. After a short time, it was evident that our children were thriving and to be truthful, receiving a more advanced education than they had received prior. Now don’t get me wrong, this in no way is meant to reflect poorly on our current educational system, but rather, show our journey of discovery. Throughout the girl’s prior education in the public school system, we have been blessed with, in my opinion, some of the best teachers around. What we found was that with our children it was a time issue.

Our child’s ability to receive the time necessary for her to fully grasp the necessary concepts were simply impossible until we ventured out on our own. Monitoring full classrooms while doing their best to spark lights withing each child became an overwhelming task for educators when recognizing that some students struggle. Taking the necessary time with each student to ensure they were thriving became an insurmountable task, leaving those struggling to simply be moved to a realm of lower expectations. This is what made our choice more viable.

Early on my wife discovered that time bred confidence and that confidence in turn created expectations within our child. The more encouragement and one on one time we were able to provide, the fuller the child’s learning would evolve and exceed expectations. Stunned by the rapid turn of events, I watched on as my wife planted the belief deep within a child that she to was intelligent and could learn. This simple belief then blossomed in a desire to learn and excel, even beating her sister on scoring, the same sister she has looked up to for her entire life as being the most intelligent one around.

As I sit, proud of both my children and their mother who works so hard at their education, I joyfully am the recipient of lengthy descriptions from my child about the solar system and the earth’s core. Although, schoolwork is the last thing on my mind many days and hearing lengthy recaps of the days newly discovered concepts rarely seems like fun to me, I will take it in stride, because it comes from my child and her excitement to learn.

As we venture forward my friends, never lose sight of the fact that the simple act of believing in someone can many times change lives. Put aside all the thoughts that something can’t be done and centering on how we can make it happen. Belief and a willingness to find innovative approaches to challenges fosters true learning and confidence which can and most assuredly will change lives and our world for the better. Welcome innovation my friends, and never stop seeing what could be if we simply believe.

Richard J. Stephens lives in Carter County and is the father of three little ladies ranging in age from nine to 29.