scribblechic

I have been here before; the emotional landscape familiar. Uncertain, hopeful, nervous. This week I will gather with the same team of teachers, therapists, and administrators that accompanied me on my son’s journey through elementary school to address nagging uncertainties concerning my daughter’s challenges in the classroom setting.

Where some rush to label needs, I have cautiously tiptoed the terrain silently evaluating my daughter’s strengths and difficulties in an effort to measure need. Bright and compassionate, resilient and determined I celebrate her character and growth. Young for her class and a little sister to an older sibling with special needs I gauged maturity and environment against my concerns.

As time has passed my daughter’s frustration has begun to rob her of her easy smile and confidence. Where I measure her growth against independent efforts, she has begun measuring her failure against others’ success. Once eager to line up among friends and begin the day, my daughter has begun to hide beneath her blanket and drag her feet preparing for school. This is where I cannot fail.

As a student of life I cannot bear the thought that my daughter could resist an opportunity to learn or that school has become a place marred by failure rather than a safe haven for ideas and curiosity. This moment of self-doubt must evolve into a new lesson in resilience. Tomorrow I will bring this hope into action: that we partner between home and school to create a place of possibility and nurture the spirit of education that my daughter will once again reach for the stars without first measuring the impossible distance from a place grounded in doubt.

Tagged: Daughter, Education, Musings