Testimony of Healing September 21, 1981 Issue

Over seven years ago I graduated from college and happily began...

MIRIAM MADES

Over seven years ago I graduated from college and happily began my career as a public school kindergarten teacher. I soon found, however, that the university courses I had taken and the academic, philosophical, and psychological theories I had been taught did not prepare me for what I met in the classroom.

I had a class of thirty youngsters with no help during the academic periods. Our student body ran the gamut of socioeconomic and scholastic levels, so some of the children were ready to read and compute, while others had never even used a pencil; I seemed to be faced not only with so-called "low academic achievers" but also with a variety of emotional and discipline problems that reportedly defied professional help.

All this seemed insurmountable until I went to my annual Christian Science Students Association meeting. The speaker, though certainly unaware of my specific situation, spoke of the need to be a practitioner, no matter where we are—and she mentioned "even in kindergarten." Suddenly I realized that I had been so impressed with my college degree and the status that supposedly went along with it that I had forgotten where all real power is. From that moment on I determined to turn from all material theories about children and education, and begin teaching from the standpoint of scientific Christianity. Things did not clear up all at once, and there were many trying days. But the more I listened to and obeyed God, infinite Mind, the less I was tempted to accept a limited, mortal assessment of each child and the better we all fared.

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