On My Calendar: Little Boy

This little boy is so smart and so willing, but for some reason his school has not taught him how to read. Therefore, I'm training one of my students to tutor him. Today, I had the privilege of teaching him and demonstrating how to teach effectively. Oh, what fun it was. It's going to be very hard for me to step aside and let my student do her job. It's going to be very hard not to ease my way into the office and slip behind the desk and take the books and pencils from of her hands. It's because this little boy is a very special little boy (He even pushed his chair in after the lesson). So, this little boy is on my calendar. I wonder how long I can sit back and watch without interfering.

Time Out

A lot of what I read about is behavior modification and setting up environments so children can learn. What I read this time, however, was a little bit of a surprise and a little different. At first, I was totally taken aback, but then I thought about it. Do you know in some Native American tribes when there was a child who misbehaved, a strong male, a notable important man in their society, was selected. A rope was tied around his waist and the child's waist. Everywhere the man went the child went also. The child and the man were never out of sight. In this way, the child was mentored. I wonder if in our society, something like this would work. Well, I'm not advocating for ropes tied around anyone. But the analogy is the same. We often use timeout as a punishment (e.g., go to your room, a classroom that is separate from other kids, juvenal hall), an opportunity for the child to think about his wickedness, and then rejoin society. I wonder if mentoring is the answer instead. I just wonder. And I wonder what kind of selflessness it would take for a man to tie himself to a young man, even in a metamorphic sense, and everywhere that man should go, the child should surely follow. I think it's a beautiful idea. I don't know if it would work. But, it's a beautiful idea.