"I am grateful for my Dad," James recited, "because he encourages me to do hard things."
Who told him to write that into his speech? I wondered.
But I already knew. No-one. James thought of it himself because we're slogging through another school-year.
When James says he's doing hard things, James means one thing: school.
We go through it every year. The none too subtle suggestions that he's ADD. The soul-crushing busy-work. The endless flood of worksheets. The lame little "Great Job!" stickers that do absolutely nothing to motivate my boy.
The problem is not that my son has ADD. The problem is that my son is too smart for public education. If we had the money, I'd be sending him to a private school. And if I had the energy, I'd be homeschooling him.
As it is, he's in a top-notch school in a high-achieving GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) class. He's an advanced reader, understands concepts and aces his tests.
But he doesn't like to sit still. For my son, sitting still is hard work. He has to discipline himself not to tune out when the teacher is talking. He has to discipline himself to stay on task.
He has the brains, he just doesn't have the self-control.
This is where Daddy comes in. He has taken James under his wing to tutor him in the discipline of self-control. My husband is helping my son become a man.
"Men have to work hard," Daddy tells him. "They don't take the easy way out."
So, Daddy devised a system of charts to help motivate James. Each day that James receives a good report from his teacher, he earns a mark on his chart. If he receives a bad report, no mark. If he receives a bad report two days in a row, he has to erase a mark. After months of earning marks, James cashes in his chart for a reward.
We also banned video games. Again. For some reason, video games are like drugs for James' brain.
I was pretty skeptical about this whole chart thing. But then again, I'm not really a chart person. I'm the girl who loved the "Great Job!" stickers.
To my great surprise, the chart worked. James' behavior at school turned around almost immediately.
And this past week, James turned in his completed chart. He had earned his reward.
I agree with James.
I'm grateful for a Daddy who encourages his son to do hard things.
