My teaching career of 30 years put me front of children from 5-18. I am sure they taught me more than I taught them. Raising three daughters brings me to these comments regarding….
“things I should have done, but didn’t” and
“things I did but shouldn’t have.”
Here are some lessons you might find helpful.
The quickies:
You are a potter; they are the clay.
They are hatchlings; you much teach them how to fly.
They are birds; you much teach them how to find food.
They are flying away; you must teach them to protect themselves against predators.
They will be parents; you must show them and teach them how to be good parents.
You are their life coach; you must teach them to respect themselves and others.
You are their pharmacist; you must teach them about good and bad drugs.
You are their boss; you must teach them about authority and hard work.
You are their counselor; you must teach them how to understand and express emotion.
You are their doctor; you must teach them about their body and sexuality.
You are their teacher; you must teach them how to love learning.
You are their police; you must teach them to respect the law.
You are their defense attorney; you must advocate for them for the rest of your life.
You are their mom or dad; you must show that you love them every day.
You are their pastor/priest; you must pray for them, teach them to forgive themselves and others, and teach them about God.
Things I should have done but didn’t:
- Been more involved with their education.
- Taken more vacations to show them the world.
- Listened more, talked less.
- Spent more time with them.
- Taught them a skill.
- Saved money for their college education.
- Been a better model of what a man and a father should be.
- Taught them about money.
Things I did which I shouldn’t have done:
- Taken them for granted.
- Expected my wife to raise them.
- Spent too much focus on a challenged child.
- Consumed with my work more than them.
- Expected them to grow up and be okay by default.
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