More Discipline

I had a terrorizing thought this morning as I sat at my desk at work e-mailing my dad on my phone during a break. I haven't taken my job seriously in a long time (3 years +) and have just done what I needed to do to keep my position. On occasion, I would go beyond my "call of duty" and tutor during lunch (which required me to stay beyond my paid hours) or have fun activities for the students. Now, it's just a job where efficiency is the bottom line.

My thought was so scary because last evening Jerrod and I had a long discussion with Bryson about school work. It isn't that he's failing or that he is even causing trouble. We have noticed that his priorities are not in the correct order and his grades are beginning to show it. Certainly a "B" on a report card would be considered above average for most, but when you know your son could do so much better if he just put a little more effort in, a "B" doesn't look so good....And with missing assignments in tow....GOOD GRIEF!

So comes the time when a spanking or time out will not do the trick. He is 12 years old. A little adult. He thinks like us. He rationalizes like us. He is even scarcastic like us. Stubborn, moody, easily influenced by his peers.... IT has become a preteen monster. How do you tame the monster? You can't. You have to teach IT to be respectful of the rules of the house and to the parents that provide a loving home for IT. Jerrod and I see our not-so-little-guy gaining his independence and stretching out his wings. We want to give him space and we want him to experience being a boy, but we also want to make sure that he has the proper skills to be successful in school and college (if he goes) without us yelling and screaming at him to do his homework.

So today marks the beginning of a fresh start for parents and son. Son will be respectful of parents requests because they are not just mindless requests to make life unbearable. Parents will show thoughtfulness in rewarding son with honest-positive-feedback and some freedoms, if deserved. It's called RESPECT. It's called love. It's called good parenting. It's a new committment to consistency.

So, I go back to where I was in my classroom....I can't be the teacher I am now. If I want my son to change, I need to also. I need to be a good role model for him. I need to put full effort into my work, just as I have asked of him. We will both be greatly rewarded. He will come home at the end of the quarter knowing that every time he cracked open a book to study, he made his parents proud. I will be rewarded with....uh,...not having to work next year. Yeah, but that's another lesson for another day.