Last weekend, I hosted a wedding for friends of mine and
also brought my daughter with me. She had so much fun with the other kids who
were there. When my MC duties were over, I was so exhausted that I had to find
a corner to sit.
It wasn't too long after when my daughter came to me and
said that we had to go home. When my boss asks me something, I have no choice
but to execute. As we headed outside, I remembered that I had left my
daughter's jacket in the car. It was pretty cold.
The next day, she started sneezing and coughing. Long
story short, today I stayed home with her because she couldn't go to school.
She had a high fever before she went to bed last night.
Thanks to Tylenol, she woke up feeling better. After her
afternoon nap, I thought to myself, "Let me see if she is able to do her
remaining homework." To my astonishment she was already doing her homework
and even finished it in less than ten minutes.
You might say, what's the big deal?
Homework is homework!
You may be right. But let me tell you where I am coming
from.
My daughter is in grade one now (yeah!!!). Ever since she
was in kindergarten, she always came home with homework. Some parents were
surprised when I told them that I had to help my daughter with homework. Their
kids (of the same age) never came home with work to do.
I remember her kindergarten teacher telling me that it
was the best way to get them ready for grade one. Once she starts grade one,
they will make her work hard every day. She needed to get used to it from early
on.
Thank God she had two years of preparation.
The first week of school in grade one, she came home with
so much homework that I thought she was
in high school.
I am not kidding.
I couldn't believe it.
There were so many instructions I thought I was reading a
dictionary.
We began working right away.
My daughter was struggling daily to finish her homework.
I almost gave up. She was going to sleep late and every morning she woke up
complaining. School was not fun anymore, but I kept pushing her, even on
weekends.
The first signs of a breakthrough came last week when I
went to a parents and teachers meeting. First of all, every parent was
complaining about the amount of homework. This didn't seem to bother the
teacher because he was laughing all the time. I guess he is used to the parents'
complaints at the beginning of the year.
Once the teacher explained the philosophy behind the
amount of homework, I felt relieved. He said he wasn't expecting them to do all
the work at the beginning. He explained his goal was to push them to become
more disciplined and that results didn't matter at first. Completing their
homework and becoming used to the routine were his main objectives. He went on to say that once they became
disciplined then through repetition, they would master their craft.
I thought I was listening to a Lebron James interview.
This is exactly what he does.
Anyways.
The teacher also introduced us to the technology he is
using to allow parents to know what their kids are doing on a daily basis. I
downloaded the app on my phone, and since then, I receive at least four
pictures of my daughter doing work at school. When she gets home, the first
thing I do is go over the pictures on my phone with her, and she tells me
everything she did that day. There is no more "How was your day
Skylar?"... to which she always responds "good" with no more
comments.
I love technology!
Since meeting her
teacher, I have made a few changes to our routine. I made homework so much fun
that Skylar is now asking for homework. I also promised to reward her every
time she finishes her daily work. Also, whenever I am playing with her (which
happens a lot), I include homework in our games without her noticing it.
Guess what!
Today, the breakthrough happened. It was so easy for her
to do the work that I was astonished. Oh, I said that already.
I do not believe the breakthrough happened today. I believe
it started two years ago with her kindergarten teacher assigning her work to do
at home while many kids of the same age were not being given any homework.
Then, it was about the daily routine, the hard work and sometimes sleepless
nights when we almost gave up. There was, just as important, the fun part we
brought to the work and the teacher communicating with me daily while pushing
the kids to have the discipline necessary to succeed. Then Boom!
Thank God I did not give up on her. Today was a teaching
moment for me. The hard work, the discipline, the patience and what we do when
no one is looking are what matters. We may never see the progress while doing
all of this but then one day... Boom, and it all comes together for an amazing
breakthrough.
I remember hearing a very successful minister saying that
people came to him to congratulate him for his overnight success. He responded
by saying, "If this is an overnight success, then that is the longest
night I have ever had."
Now, I understand what he meant.
My daughter homework breakthrough today took more than
two years. Some breakthroughs can take decades... just ask Nelson Mandela.
Moral of the story? Do you want to have a huge
breakthrough in your life? Just go to sleep for three years and you will have
an overnight success
Always a pleasure
Patrick
The Journeyman
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