Sunday, December 5, 2010

Three Beautiful Things 11/30-12/3/10: Reconciliation Papers, Solid Young People, Parents and Grandparents

1.  At LCC, my work was dominated by holding individual conferences with my WR 121 students, doing all I could to help them come to their own understanding of the idea of reconciliation.  Since reconciliation can only happen if there is brokenness, I know a lot now about brokenness in my students' lives and I admire all that they understand about how that brokenness has been or can't be mended, how reconciliation has happened, can happen, has partially happened, or can't or won't happen at all.

2.  When my students discuss their knowledge of what reconciliation requires, whether it's honesty, equality, letting go of blame, humbleness, compassion, among other things, I tell them:  "You know, I keep hearing all these negative things about young people today.  Listen to yourselves.  Your values are good.  You are solid.  When you hear this negative stuff about kids today, tell people my age to shut up.  Don't listen to that stuff."

3.  Speaking of admirable values, the conversation at Billy Mac's turned to what my friends do as parents and grandparents and their children and grandchildren are in very good hands.  It buoys me.

1 comment:

Christy Woolum said...

The conference I just returned from has a focus about the same theme you talked about here...seeing the good in our students. Our speaker encouraged each of us to never ever give up on any student. That is daunting.