on my kid. This is the one who is terribly shy about standing up in front of people and talking. Speeches in classes are torture for her. Some teachers have allowed her to complete assignments by speaking to part of a class, instead of everyone, to help lower her anxiety level. Well...
Two Sundays ago she stood up in front of the congregation as part of the bridging service for high school seniors and spoke. Yes, her voice shook, and her statement seemed a little unfinished - but hey, she's unfinished too! Great job. For that alone, I'm very proud of her.
Then she knocked my socks off. A few days later, she had to deliver a persuasive speech in English class. She stood up in front of the whole class and told them that homophobic bullying was wrong - backing it up with statistics about students dropping out of school because of bullying. I'm sure it was six minutes of terror for her, and I know the teacher was concerned about what kind of reaction she'd get.
The reaction so far? Apparently, later that day in a different class, one of the students who heard her speech complained to the teacher when another student made a comment about something being "so gay;" and because he complained, the teacher reprimanded the commenter.
Kid's grade on the speech: 92%
Positive results so far: 100%
Mom's pride: immeasurable...
Can I get an "Amen!" for this faith that teaches our youth to speak out for justice?
And now, I'm taking a holiday from blogging for a bit. It's crunch time: papers, projects, presentations... Back in a bit!
5 comments:
Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. (That's a Sevenfold Amen!) No wonder you're proud of your daughter--"speak your mind even if your voice trembles", as the bumpersticker goes.
Amen. Be proud, mama, be proud. What's great about speaking out when you are young like that is that often you find you are not the only voice; just the first. Good luck to you and to yours.
Amen!
Years ago, when the guys were pretty young, I heard the word "gay" come from one of them as a disparaging term. I firmly corrected that and made sure that they understood what it mean, and why and how it was uses to disparage... and who the people they knew, loved dearly and were close to who might be personally hurt, shocked and offended by it.
There was dead silence in the car. Tears from one of them.
And it never, ever has been heard from them again.
That's not the point. Maybe six months ago (they're now teens), I heard one of them call the evangelical kid they're friends with on it. He apologized (smile). A couple weeks later, I heard him use it again. I simply called his name... and he apologized. He knew. I'd never said anything about it to him, but he knew exactly what that parental tone was--and connected it immediately.
Our kids are moving that mountain. You only need to look at the polling data about age group support for equal marriage rights.
Dear Friend -
I'm so proud of her, too. Remember the rag doll ceremony? Seems like a life time ago! Now she is almost all grown up, lovely, and coming into her own. Her name fits her - she is beautiful. And, strong. Like her Mom.
Amen!
Joining in the pride fest here. Wonderful to hear this hope-filled tale of the younger generation. Good on her!
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