Article September 21, 2020 ISSUE

From willful parenting to a God-inspired solution

Name Withheld

Our son was intelligent; that I was sure of. Ever since he was very young, he had exhibited an ability to grasp relationships, to understand his environment, to speak clearly, to be creative, and to remember and retell jokes. But school was another matter. He didn’t enjoy it or seem to grasp its importance.

I had been a teacher, and it was easy to take on feelings of responsibility for making sure this child didn’t jeopardize his future by doing poorly in school. So I hovered and prodded, lectured and encouraged in every way I could think of. Homework times were stressful and disappointing. Privately, I wondered if our son was afraid that if he got good grades, his dad and I would put pressure on him to go to college.

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