As a homeschool mom, I saw a wonderful opportunity to teach my kids a foreign language. Being a practical homeschool mom, I chose Spanish. We bought several spanish curriculums, took spanish in our little co-op, paid the big money for a Rosetta Stone package and I even took my oldest to Guatemala for a missions trip. When she started public school in 8th grade we signed her up for Spanish and she started down that road her Freshman year as well.
But she was just terrible at it and I could never figure out why. She had access to all the tools. Yes, I know a native speaker is helpful, but she just hated it and therefore did not excel at it.
In the meantime, she was developing a great love for Asian cultures. Anime is the gateway drug for all things Asian. (You've been warned.) She met some Korean boys at school that she befriended and through the friendship, she started to learn their language. Throughout her life, she has seen the marginalized and then done something about it. At the age of 4 she would get out of the shopping cart and go find the people in wheel chairs or the elderly staring at the floor and get right up into their faces and say "Hi!". It is a quality I have always admired and even stood in awe of at times.
Foreign exchange students are a marginalized population in our schools. This is why we did some of our own hosting because it is so hard on these kids. American kids are very self-centered and in their attempt to fit in, they are not even aware of the kid from another country. But my daughter was always aware of them and initially I assumed her interest in language was just an attempt to find some common ground. But let me remind you about our role as a parent. We are entrusted with children to enjoy them, shepherd them and encourage them to become what God intended them to be. That requires me to hold their future loosely because I am not God and I don't know what they are here to do. If you see it as being on a grand adventure together and not get caught up in the destination, then the journey is really quite lovely (and fun!).
So my oldest is now in college majoring in Japanese with a minor in Chinese and she speaks some Korean on the side. As a freshman she is in 3rd year language in both because she has worked so hard to immerse herself in the asian culture and those are her friends. She is on course to study abroad in Japan next year and hopes to spend the summer in China. Wow!
Looking back now, I might have been off on the Spanish thing a bit. She is clearly gifted and blows away even most of the native speakers with her language skills. To her credit, she has used Skype, friendship, school, travel and work situations to immerse herself in the languages and cultures. She presently works at a Chinese restaurant. Genius!
So what is the moral of the story? Hold their hand, not their dreams. Allow them to lead and just be with them and excited for them. Enjoy them and marvel at what God has prepared in advance for them to do. It feels like we are continually unwrapping a Christmas gift as they get older and start to try new things. Give them freedom to fail. We really do not understand the blessing of failure and suffering in America. They are not the enemy. Satan is our enemy and he comes in many forms. Sometimes, he comes as the voice of reason and being practical and we find ourselves crushing a young dream before it even has a chance. I have apologized to my daughter for the wound of practicality. I know my heart just wants to keep her safe, but is that about her or is that about me? My answer too often has been it is about me. I love her and I will miss her as she dances around the world.
But to see your child living out their calling and living with joy and passion is a blessing I simply can not describe. It is truly Another Homeschool Success Story.
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