Sometimes, it’s hard to ferret out what happens at school. I’ll hear a word or phrase or idea that makes no sense at all and only later find the homework sheet that explains it. I’ll hear a song and wonder what on earth it’s all about until another mother offers her kid’s explanation. I can only wrangle half an anecdote from Lucy and have to wait for Ben to offer the other.
Recently, a group of students from a local college’s health education program came to Oakdale and spoke to the students. I didn’t yet know this when I overheard the following:
Lucy:Â Â Ben, who is the smartest person in the world?
Ben: Well, there aren’t that many smart people left — lots of people smoke and drink. So I would say Jesus.
Later, in Ben’s take-home folder, I found this:
Ah ha. And thank God I found it because one can only imagine the conclusion Ben would have drawn from the nightly half-beer his father and I drink. Heavens, he’d be in a panic. This is the kid who, when I can’t remember something, says “I hope you don’t have Alzheimer’s.” Ok, that might be my fault since I frequently follow my malapropisms and memory moments with the same comment.
We had a talk with Ben that hopefully tempered the scare-tactics of well-meaning, but heinously unsupervised, college students. I think we assured him that his parents were not going to go blind from drinking beer without undermining his new certification as a “Positive Influence.” I do wish I hadn’t had to work so hard for clarity and balance on this one, but it is perhaps training for the teenage years.
p.s. do you love the icon at the top of this post? Me too! My Aunt Ginny painted it. Check her out at www.virginiawieringa.com. She is an amazing artist and, while I don’t make art, I thinks she and I share some spiritual code. She rocks.
6 Comments
Love it! Make sure you keep the contract so that you can pull it out to show him when he is 16! I am intrigued as to what the actual “going blind” message was. Wait until he is in 6th grade and has to have the sex/aids talk. I die every year when I hear about some of the misconceptions the students have!
I remember a similar group coming to our class when I was a kid, and I was so ashamed because they asked all the kids whose parents smoked to raise their hands. Then they proceeded to tell us all the bad things that were going to happen to us if we started the dreadful habit, and I seriously thought my parents were going to die like THAT day. But then they prayed for all the parents to stop smoking. I’m still waiting for that prayer to work! I remember when Judi DID try once, but she was such a hot mess we were literally handing her the pack and lighter by the end of the week!
Yes, beware of well-meaning but heinously unsupervised students from certain colleges. They present another parental challenge.
Indeed they do, Father. Any stories you’d like to share?
Thanks for the great story, Sara and for the plug for my art and for including the icon of our buddy (that smart guy), Jesus.
Last time I was at Calvin it didn’t seem like “going drunk” was keeping many people back from trying out the alchohol
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