“Loving a child doesn’t mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.” ~Nadia Boulanger
We so often think about caring as the outward kindnesses we show. A great example is the caring we see students show as they have the opportunity to exchange valentines with their classmates. But, sometimes deep caring can take on forms we wouldn’t initially think about.
When we think of how we as adults show deep levels of caring and what it looks like as we work together to forge the children and young adults into responsible, civic minded individuals, sometimes caring can look different than what we might initially think of. Sometimes caring can look like helping a child to learn from a choice or mistake. Sometimes caring might be maintaining a high expectation and expecting a student to rise to the occasion instead of lowering the expectation. Sometimes caring can take on the form of letting a child know that you love them too much to allow them to make a certain choice or to evade the consequences of their actions. As Randi G Fine states so eloquently: “When we don’t allow others to suffer the consequences of their actions we cripple them emotionally. We deprive them of the ability to learn from their mistakes. We also take away their ability to overcome their problems and change their life for the better.”
Each day I see examples of AVA parents and staff showing their caring for the children in our care. I see parents show their love for their children by setting and enforcing boundaries. I see teachers taking the time to work with students and build their confidence so that these students see that they can succeed at a skill that might have seemed impossible. I see teachers then celebrating when students meet their big goals with AR parties where students build forts under their desks and have free reading time with their stuffies. Students feel their teachers care as they learn both a love for learning and a sense of accomplishment in meeting their goals.
As we look forward to the long weekend, we ask you to take a moment to both celebrate the ways that we as families, staff and community show caring by helping to develop AVA students’ civic and personal responsibility, and look for opportunities to continue showing our care by teaching the children and young adults in our care to love what is difficult.
Melanie Foster
K-2 Assistant Principal
