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Making a Difference
Until a miracle occurs:
When Grandmother tired of the nothingness and entered a GED program to get her high school diploma, it is doubtful she had any idea the significance of her decision for, not only her own future, but the future of her children and grandchildren. Grandmother has now been joined in the GED training by her daughters. Husbands and significant others are considering doing the same.
One daughter has been told her youngest will have to repeat the first grade for the third time next year. In any previous conversations with her, she has blamed the school and the teachers for her child's failure. She has been adamant the teachers had hated her and she believed that hatred was being transferred to her children, thus depriving them of any opportunity to learn.
Today, as the daughter spoke of the conference with the teacher, where she learned of the child's failure to learn, she did not heap blame on others. She agreed with the teacher that the child should receive the help with vision and hearing which the school was willing to arrange. Last night mother and child sat together at the table and worked on their homework while enjoying each other's supportive comfort.
I cannot imagine the joy one Grandmother must be experiencing at this time. I cannot comprehend the difference her simple action is capable of making for her family.
"If a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind." --Thich Nhat Hanh
Jane Mullikin
Scorn of learning or disregard of education can hold entire families back from having a chance to be all they are capable of being. After years of experiencing defeat in school, children enter the work world with no skills leaving them with few alternatives other than deadend jobs, jail, or aimless drifting. When this has occurred in multiple generations, attitudes develop which separate the family from hope and opportunity.
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