The other day I overheard one of my kids telling their friend that they were so glad I didn't get all worked up over grades. Not trying to be nosey but totally wanting to be nosey, I kept listening.
My child went on to explain they are expected to do their best but in the end, as long as they worked hard, we'd be okay with whatever grade they got.
For the most part, this is right.
This hasn't always been the case. When my oldest daughter started kindergarten I felt compelled to help her succeed. I felt this enormous pressure that success in school meant success in life and I wanted to set my child up for success.
She was a bright child. She was an articulate child. But try as I might all through kindergarten, she couldn't read.
Then came 1st grade. All of the other kids in her class were reading with ease. Some were even reading chapter books! Not my daughter. I panicked. I had her tested. I worried constantly that I must be doing something wrong as her mother.
In the end, it was a readiness issue with her. When she was ready, she starting reading.
Then along came my next child who was reading at 4 years old. Finally, I'd done something right, I reasoned.
But then child number three came along and was my slowest reader yet.
Through all of this, God started to untangle that misperception that success in school determines success in life. And that as a parent, it is up to me to push, plead, demand, and determine my child's future.
Slowly, I realized that God has a plan for each of my kids. As long as I am depending on the Lord to guide me as a parent, nothing I do or don't do, will mess up my kid's future.
As their parent, it is my job to guide them. But my guiding shouldn't have the ultimate goal in mind of them making straight A's. My guiding should be focused on leading them into a relationship with God where He'll make their path straight, no matter what their grades are.
As a parent, this revelation has provided such freedom for me and my kids.
I can celebrate that if one of my kids excels in a subject, that success is needed for whatever God intends for them to eventually do in life. If however, a child struggles and can't grasp a certain subject, well that's also part of God's direction.
Of course working hard, doing your best, and being a conscientious student is important. But in the end, for me and my home, grades are not the ultimate determination of success.
So, all that to say, yeah- I don't get all worked up over grades.
My child went on to explain they are expected to do their best but in the end, as long as they worked hard, we'd be okay with whatever grade they got.
For the most part, this is right.
This hasn't always been the case. When my oldest daughter started kindergarten I felt compelled to help her succeed. I felt this enormous pressure that success in school meant success in life and I wanted to set my child up for success.
She was a bright child. She was an articulate child. But try as I might all through kindergarten, she couldn't read.
Then came 1st grade. All of the other kids in her class were reading with ease. Some were even reading chapter books! Not my daughter. I panicked. I had her tested. I worried constantly that I must be doing something wrong as her mother.
In the end, it was a readiness issue with her. When she was ready, she starting reading.
Then along came my next child who was reading at 4 years old. Finally, I'd done something right, I reasoned.
But then child number three came along and was my slowest reader yet.
Through all of this, God started to untangle that misperception that success in school determines success in life. And that as a parent, it is up to me to push, plead, demand, and determine my child's future.
Slowly, I realized that God has a plan for each of my kids. As long as I am depending on the Lord to guide me as a parent, nothing I do or don't do, will mess up my kid's future.
As their parent, it is my job to guide them. But my guiding shouldn't have the ultimate goal in mind of them making straight A's. My guiding should be focused on leading them into a relationship with God where He'll make their path straight, no matter what their grades are.
As a parent, this revelation has provided such freedom for me and my kids.
I can celebrate that if one of my kids excels in a subject, that success is needed for whatever God intends for them to eventually do in life. If however, a child struggles and can't grasp a certain subject, well that's also part of God's direction.
Of course working hard, doing your best, and being a conscientious student is important. But in the end, for me and my home, grades are not the ultimate determination of success.
So, all that to say, yeah- I don't get all worked up over grades.
Home