Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday May 1, 2008

I often write about teachers I have known along the way and as I think on those noble creatures who endured the Lilly Kid from Farr Creek I say a prayer for them and as many of them have passed to the great school in the sky I mention their heirs, as surely any teacher who ever attempted to impart knowledge through the art of the teacher earned any reward they may receive. I really wasn't a bad kid, but considering that I lived day after boring day with the sixth sense knowledge that Mom loved my sister more than me, well, it just kind of kept me off balance for 20 years.

Over the years I have come to appreciate the teachers that fought for the mind and heart of a little rough kid with no hope of avoiding the Electric Chair. According to Mom only the grace of the Lord saved me from such a fate. Many of my mentors insisted that I had something in me that just hadn't come out as yet, and that I would be alright. They believed in me and I was bound and determined to let them down!

I wish we Americans understood the awesome power a good teacher has over the life a child of any age. One of the most famous women of her time or all time wrote concerning her teacher:

"She was never conscious of my limitations."

Miss Keller made the above tribute to her friend, teacher and mentor, Anne Sullivan.

Much has been written about how the expectations of a teacher can impact the mind and heart of the student. I am thankful for our great educational institutions that really drill the students studying the art of teaching, but I am disappointed in the lack of emphasis that their students are children of enormous possibilities, whatever their color, wherever they live and whomever they admire. A teacher who really cares can win a kid to their heart and become the hero in the kid's life due to the closeness of the relationship. Teachers spend more time with most children than do the parents or parent in the case of single parent homes. I checked with a teacher today (Wednesday) and she assured me that 61 percent of the kids in her elementary class live at home with their mother and the father is absent due to divorce. Some fathers still try to stay meaningfully involved in the children's life, but most meet only the merest of court ordered support and some no help at all as the entire family was totally abandoned physically, financially and spiritually.

This particular teacher is wise in that she does not emphasize the tragic present conditions of the children, but instead she in subtle ways teaches them the truth that an angel taught to Mary,

"With God all things are possible."

Poor, little kids who are missing half of the parent module need to know that while many ignorant people see only their limitations, only God Himself knows that through His power there really are no limits built into their current life status. Helen Keller had it right and I hope you know that someone, somewhere is the equivalent of Anne Sullivan in your life and you most likely are the same in someone else's life.

She was never conscious of my limitations.

Larry Lilly Copyright (C)2008 Use with credit

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