Saturday, May 30, 2020

we partner with the parents



Parent and Teacher, Together


when it works,

we teachers see the child in the present,

and see the child in futures that beckon,

we love that present and future

 calling the best within them 

that hopes to be born

within the alchemy of choice and circumstance,


when it works,

the parent sees the child

and the possibilities inherent within them,

even better than the educator,

yet with overwhelming feeling,


both parent and teacher knowing

that love and circumstance alone can’t let the future

become what we hope it might be,

in this world, free will thrives within our young,

and each of them chooses every moment

between paths forward, or back, 

that seem best to them,

with the present reality often 

overwhelming the possible future,

the woods not so much trackless 

as filled with beckoning tracks,


I was given a great gift today

by the mother of one of my students, 

a student with whom and for whom 

I have done my best 

to see her, to know her, 

to support the best in her

that labors to be born,

that mother described me as a helper in the journey forward

that drove her to have a child and to do her best

to allow and facilitate that child becoming the best she can be,


I am heartened, and gratified,

when I can partner with a parent,

when I can help her and them

to support that young person

take steps forward into the power that calls to them.


by Henry H. Walker

May 29, ‘20

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