Tuesday's Thought

Normally I have Tuesday morning off, and I try to put a little column together. This week I had to work early, so I didn't get a chance. But today someone said something to me that made me want to add a little something today. This person asked me what my expectations are for the children in my care. I replied without even thinking. "The sky is the limit."

Now let me put it this way: If God were to ask you what you wanted, would you say, "A ham sandwich?" Would you say, "I would like to have a new toilet seat, God." How about "God, since you're asking, I could use some stamps; I ran out?" Probably none of the above.

Well it's the same with being a parent or a teacher. In many ways, an adult in a child's life mirrors the part of God in that the parent or teacher teaches by his actions, about God. He models someone who has all the control. At the same time, the child must satisfy the parent or should satisfy the parent because that's his role. The expectations that come from the parent should be as high as God's are.

When I expect the works, I usually get it. If I were to expect little or nothing, I would get that. So parents have to ask themselves, "What do I want?" At this point, parents should say, "I want everything because when my child gives me his best, the top of the heap, he is responding to being the best human he can be.

Doing one's best every single time is the achievement of life. It doesn't matter if it's some dumb little worksheet or a meal for a special friend. It could be giving the dog water or fetching something for mom upstairs. Each and every act in one's life is important and each and every act is an act of love for the people around the child. Falling short of the mark in ordinary things can only mean that when the big things come up, a child will not be in the habit of doing his very best and he will lose out.

If a child is asked to water the dog, the best job of it means doing it right away. It means washing out the dog bowl and filling the bowl with cool water and placing it properly on the floor. If there are spills, it should be cleaned up right away.

If I ask a child to clean up a puzzle for me, I expect that he will put it together and then put it back where it goes. I don't mean that he will casually heap some of the pieces on the tray and then leave it on the table.

We are by nature bound to work all our lives. It's simply part of being a human being. Shirking, skimping, leaving things half done, is the work of an immature and lazy person. The ability to appraise work, understand what the whole task is from beginning to end, approach the task with positive affection, do the job without complaining, and finally finish the task without detours is the work of a fully developed person, a person of skill and grace. Now which of these do I want for the children in my care?

I want the children I teach to master the art of work - happily - and the only way of achieving that is to expect the very best each and every time. So when my friend asked me, I told her. "The sky is the limit."