CHANGING OUR PERSPECTIVE – Dad Gone Wild

CHANGING OUR PERSPECTIVE – Dad Gone Wild

CHANGING OUR PERSPECTIVE

“It is a good lesson – though it may often be a hard one – for a man… to step aside out of the narrow circle in which his claims are recognized, and to find how utterly devoid of significance, beyond that circle, is all that he achieves, and all he aims at.”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

My daughter has been taking ballet at Nashville Ballet for about 5 years now. It’s been a fantastic experience and I have no problem handing out a shameless plug. If you are looking for ballet classes for your young’un, they are the go-to place.

Back in the Fall, I was picking her up one evening from class, when she hopped in the car in an obviously good mood. If you are a parent of a pre-teen or teen, you know these moments are often fleeting and thus need to be treated with the care of holding a butterfly in your palm. A thing of beauty that if held too tightly can be crushed, or with the slightest movement, will take flight.

“Good class?”, I asked.

Still smiling, she nodded to me and responded. “Great class. I got lots of corrections!”

Puzzled, “That’s a good thing?”

She proceeded to launch into an extended explanation, “It’s a great thing! Ms. Miriam has taught me that when people give you corrections it means that they recognize how hard you are working and improving. It means that they think you have the potential to get even better. If they didn’t think you could improve, they wouldn’t say anything to you. Offering corrections means they believe in CONTINUE READING: CHANGING OUR PERSPECTIVE – Dad Gone Wild

ITS ALL IN THE PERSPECTIVE – Dad Gone Wild

ITS ALL IN THE PERSPECTIVE – Dad Gone Wild

ITS ALL IN THE PERSPECTIVE

“Memory,’ wrote the Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury, is a process of organizing what to forget.”
― Ben Ehrenreich, The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine

Today is the last day of classes for Metro Nashville Public Schools. As I sit here and craft my latest missive, I am uplifted by the sounds of my youngest’s chortles wafting through his bedroom door. His teachers are throwing a pajama party this morning for all of the children who completed their assigned work. To earn the reward, he worked especially hard this week – frequently checking and rechecking to make sure everything was completed. As a result, his morning holds promises of quizzes, jokes with classmates, and prizes. A grand time for all.

My daughter has a book club meeting later today, in which they’ll discuss several recently read titles. She enjoys the time spent with her classmates and teacher. Along with her brother, she has spent the last couple of days, checking and re-checking work to ensure that everything is completed. Back in mid-October, she struggled for a bit, but found her mojo and has since re-applied herself, mostly making up lost ground. She’ll still only earn a “C” in Social Studies, due to her earlier transgressions. Not the expected grade, but the one she earned and one that comes with its own lessons. It’s safe to say that she has learned as much from that “C” as any “A” she ever got

Meanwhile, out in the world, there continues to be a steady drumbeat for the narrative that the CONTINUE READING: ITS ALL IN THE PERSPECTIVE – Dad Gone Wild