Category: Beth

Don’t you dare

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It wasn’t exactly a surprise. Although I’d never seen it happen before, we’d known he’d done it recently at a friend’s house. Still, I was only able to stifle my response due to near superhuman control of my airways and vocal cords. I felt my diaphragm spasm, putting a fair bit of pressure on my lips and nose, but I’m proud of the fact I have a little self control.

Right in front of me, my forty-seven month old son called his sister a meat-head.

I’m so ashamed my first instinct was to laugh. What is it about kids misbehaving a certain way, usually for the first time, that I find so funny? It’s the novelty that’s the key. Usually by the second or third time this problem of mine cures itself. Unfortunately (in this case), Beth is no fool. I had a lot of explaining to do. She was not amused at all.

Teaching limits

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This one’s another entry that sat unfinished for a while. I’m not sure why I admit to these things.

I’ve said it before, but I can’t say often enough: I’m really proud of my daughter. She has a beautiful mind; but as sometimes happens, hers comes with a few quirks. Throw in a few genetic bumps and you’ll see a road to academic success that hasn’t always been smooth – despite her gifts.

Many people have said Beth’s teacher this year was a really good one. As far as I knew Beth agreed. She retired mid-way through the year though, and a newly certified former teacher’s assistant took over. Although the assistant had been in Beth’s class the last two years, and Beth adored her, I was a little worried about Beth losing a good teacher.

It turns out I picked the wrong time to worry.

I don’t remember how it came up, but Cheryl said to me the other night, “I hope Mrs. (the retired teacher) was wrong.”

“Huh?”

“When she said Beth would never be a scientist, or earn a PhD….”

Cheryl kept on talking, but I only had ears for the first part. I was obviously supposed to remember this conversation, but somehow I didn’t. It was news to me – shocking news. Beth had a few problems a few years ago, but her grades have been exceptional and she’s shown a real enthusiasm for learning – science (and astronomy) in particular. What the heck was I doing when this came up the first time? I was mindlessly nodding my head as I played with the computer, no doubt.

It’s possible this happened while I was sick late last year, though I still should have noticed.

Maybe I’m missing something… something fundamental about the nature of school. I thought elementary school (besides teaching the basics**) was about encouraging kids to explore possibilities, about giving them the keys to the ground floor of a vast, limitless, and intriguing world. Beth is just starting to grasp some of the wonders of our world – with both hands.

Excuse me for using for being a bit juvenile, BUT WTF? (Somebody’s got a potty mouth tonight.)

I can understand not wanting to set a child up for failure, but isn’t it a little early for career counseling or collegiate academic advising? If fifth grade isn’t the time for dreaming of possibilities, when is? Maybe… just maybe, she should (at least) get to high school before we starting thinking about the right PhD program.

Just in case you didn’t catch on, I AM MAD. You know what? There isn’t a damn thing I can do about it, nothing that’s immediately satisfying anyway. I’m not usually a confrontational person – in person anyway. But given the proper motivation, I’ve been known to make an occasional exception.

You hear a lot of parents say they’ve tried, even ones that appear on the local news – with their arms conspicuously bound behind their backs. But I really think we have. We’ve encouraged her interests with trips to the library, books and videos. I’ve dug out my old telescope, braving the haze and light pollution to explore the solar system. We’re familiar with the space center and the local science museum (though I can’t in good conscience claim selfless parenting on this point – I love going). We’ve had many discussions that pushed the limits of my meager knowledge of science… like one we recently had about light. (Look! Up in the sky! It’s a wave… it’s a particle… NO, IT’S BOTH!) She’s done well academically (straight As). She’s done well in the activities we’ve tried to shore up her shortcomings (re: focus & Tae Kwon Do).

Maybe I need to learn to stop worrying and love the bomb. (Every now and then it’s fun to just type the first thing that comes to mind, even if it doesn’t make much sense or fit in a particular context.)

So what do I believe, or more appropriately, who? The new teacher… the one that’s been with Beth the last two years (1.5 as a classroom assistant), has since recommended her for every accelerated academic program they offer in middle school (meaning she’ll be bussed out to a school further away). One teacher has encouraged Beth to look to the stars (literally and figuratively), while the other preached tempered expectations.

You know what? I change my mind. There is something I can do right now. I can encourage my daughter to reach as high as she wants.

* Beth starts sixth grade next week.

** Florida is one of those places that has embraced standardized testing as the ultimate measuring stick for education. As a result, some teachers and schools teach what’s covered on the test… no less, and nothing more.

More of Beth’s pics

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Once again, these pictures suffer a bit from being printed and re-scanned (gotta work out an arrangement to get the source files home from school)… not to mention my poor Photoshop skills.

Still, we think they’re pretty cool.

beth sun


Beth’s caption reads:
Sunshine
It shines beautifully through the tree
It’s really peaceful for you and me

beth tree


Beth’s caption reads:
The tree of life
The arms are the branches and the hand at the end
The trunk is the body and the roots are the legs
I can picture the head with the flowing hair
Now the tree brings life to everything living

May Discovery Launch

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Beth’s been on me to post this for a while, but I was having trouble with a WordPress plugin for embedding QuickTime video. I could have gone the YouTube route, but that’s not nearly as fun as capturing the video from the DVR myself (nor as legally gray).

I never get tired of watching manned mission launches. I’ve never seen one live up close, but night launches are stunning even from Orlando (one bright spot during our year of purgatory in mouse town).


Discovery Launch (May 2008)

Beth’s pic

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BethPict.jpg

Beth’s taking a photography class at the “college for kids” program she’s enrolled in this summer.

This is her picture/haiku for the day:

fun geometry
triangles above my head
a road that goes up


The agenda revealed

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Beth… bless her heart. She volunteered to start the shopping list for us this week. She sounded so innocent, so sincerely helpful.

And then I saw the only item on her list tonight, on my way to bed.

Ice cream sandwiches.

Mad Science

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Beth’s been going to an after school science program for the last few weeks, and she’s been having a blast. We’ve had some great after school discussions about things like weather patterns and ecological systems. Cheryl had a different kind of experience this week though, when she discovered a disturbing bag of goo on the counter.

“Ugh, what’s this?” She asked. She was expecting an answer from me because I’d picked up Beth, been home with her the last few hours, and it was exactly the kind of thing Beth is typically responsible for.

Woo hoo! FINALLY! It was my opportunity to say something I’d waited a while to say…

I put on one of those poker faces that looks like a poker face (if that makes any sense) and said, “Looks like some kind of science project to me.”

It was a great opportunity to be completely honest AND a smart ass all at the same time. The sideways glance and groan it produced was exactly what I was aiming for.

Just in case you’re wondering, the stuff in the bags started out as three balls of green gelatin – representing three cells, with M&Ms as nuclei.

It’s tough being ten

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I was bouncing around the internet this evening and I came across a blog post discussing the problems with their child’s school. It reminded me of the trouble we had a couple years ago with Beth. (It’s two years later Beth still talks about that teacher every now and again.)

The purpose of this entry is to share with you (yet again) how proud I am of my daughter, and how grateful I am for the wonderful teachers and staff at her new(ish) school. This year and last haven’t been perfect, but they never will be, so we shouldn’t expect it. I still think the amount of homework they give is a bit ridiculous (though I’m careful not to share this with Beth). I still think kids can be awfully cruel. A kid that’s a little different is like blood in the water, with a couple nearby sharks carrying around nothing but empty stomachs. But the results are undeniable. Beth’s latest progress report with all ‘A’s came home on Friday and I’m a proud papa.

She’s been working me hard this week though. It started out with her declaration that she couldn’t be a good Lutheran because she believed in science, not Genesis; and led to a light discussion about allegories, and the possible purpose of some of the early books of the Bible.

We weren’t done there though. Yesterday morning (when I was still struggling to wake up) she wanted to know why there was a war in Iraq, and if I thought there was still a possibility we’d attack Iran. I’d forgotten that Iraq has been in the news for most of her life (or more than half anyway).

Beth is a curious kid, but her questions are usually a little easier to answer… like trying to explain what ‘red shift’ is (which she saw referenced in one of her astronomy books), or what the difference between ‘fission’ and ‘fusion’ is – and why one tends to produce radioactive waste, while the other doesn’t. That’s an awful lot to explain for a guy that studied the social sciences in school (with thoughts of going into counseling of some kind). It’s a good thing growing up with my dad gave me the equivalent of a minor in physics.

By the way, I’m a lousy theologian. Faith doesn’t come easy to me, and I’m afraid the only thing I can teach her is that it’s something she’s ultimately going to have to decide for herself. I hope ten isn’t too early to learn that lesson.

Nothing interesting to see here

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I know I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again anyway. I love to see my kids playing together. One of our big worries when Adam was born (besides how we were going to pay the bills), was that seven years would prove to be too big a difference for Beth and Adam to be really close.

Thus far, it seems those worries were unfounded.

Brother idolizes sister


These last couple weeks have been really hard on Adam. You see, he hates the word homework. Some of you might feel a compulsion to point out that lots of kids hate that word. I’d agree; however, I’d just like to point out that in my experience, I didn’t learn to hate the word until I actually had some. Adam’s dislike comes from homework’s byproduct: a beloved playmate that can’t come out and play. His worst tantrum this week came at the foot of Beth’s closed door, as she tried to finish off a math worksheet.

This is where my weak spot as a parent is exposed. On the days when I’m picking up both the kids (Beth from Tae Kwon Do and Adam from pre-k), I can’t help but give them a quick break to play together out back… even when I know Adam won’t be satisfied with twenty minutes. In his case, it’s definitely worse to have played and lost, than to never have played at all.

Ah, but to see them together… it makes me wonder if I’ve done something right after all.

(By the way Beth, if you’re reading this… I didn’t really hate homework. Before your mother came into my life, homework was the love of my life. You buy that, right?)