Each
of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures
as a necessary part of the learning process. But all too often as
parents and teachers we deny this same right to our children. We convey
either by words or by actions that failure is something to be ashamed
of, that nothing but top performance meets with our approval. 四季清明英语文摘 l
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K$w(v8G A&O'UvWhen I see a child subject to this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie.四季清明英语文摘2Y"eh};gP
l-Y
Tb$Av ?u-zzDonnie
was my youngest third-grader. He was a shy, nervous perfectionist. His
fear of failure kept him from classroom games that other children
played with joyous abandon. He seldom answered questions - he might be
wrong. Written assignments, especially math, reduced him to nail-biting
frustration. He seldom finished his work because he repeatedly checked
with me to be sure he hadn't made a mistake.四季清明英语文摘.lX }/t/t"Egj
Z aP2j9w c7W:i3l8TI tried my best to
build his self-confidence. And I repeatedly asked God for direction.
But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher,
was assigned to our classroom.四季清明英语文摘6M0i4k\#Y/j7r.d9d%W
)HV M*ZWu2G;e*MShe was young and pretty, and she
loved children. My pupils, Donnie included, adored her. But even
enthusiastic, loving Mary Anne was baffled by this little boy who
feared he might make a mistake.
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"\JB@:Pz)MIThen one morning we were working
math problems at the chalkboard. Donnie had copied the problems with
painstaking neatness and filled in answers for the first row. Pleased
with his progress, I left the children with Mary Anne and went for art
materials. When I returned, Donnie was in tears. He'd missed the third
problem.
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My student teacher looked at me in despair. Suddenly
her face brightened. From the desk we shared, she got a canister filled
with pencils.四季清明英语文摘 {:_1V?vsM
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"Look, Donnie," she said, kneeling beside him and
gently lifting the tear-stained face from his arms. "I've got something
to show you." She removed the pencils, one at a time, and placed them
on his desk.四季清明英语文摘L.e8u/UE,gY C Mc
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"See these pencils, Donnie?" she continued. "They
belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are worn? That's
because we make mistakes too. Lots of them. But we erase the mistakes
and try again. That's what you must learn to do, too."
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She
kissed him and stood up. "Here," she said, "I'll leave one of these
pencils on your desk so you'll remember that everybody makes mistakes,
even teachers." Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and just a
glimmer of a smile - the first I'd see on his face that year.四季清明英语文摘Gm9N)cc!y
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The
pencil became Donnie's prized possession. That, together with Mary
Anne's frequent encouragement and unfailing praise for even Donnie's
small successes, gradually persuaded him that it's all right to make
mistakes - as long as you erase them and try again. 四季清明英语文摘
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