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<\/a>See what I really, really mean!<\/p><\/div>\n
And there\u2019s teaching \u2013 teaching everything from right from wrong to how to lead-off from first base. Teaching responsibility<\/span> is at the top of the teaching list; and being proud of your kid is at the top of the pleasures list. There are many splendors to recount. For this story I\u2019m going to stick with the worry-about-being-a-good-teacher that transforms into pleasure-upon-success.<\/p>\n When Jack was 2\u00bd , he and I took a walk down the beach at Martinique. I wanted to go for a swim and he agreed to guard my wallet and not wander off. (Yes, I kept my eye on him but) when I got out of the Sea, I made sure to tell him how proud I was of him and what a good job he did being responsible. This paid-off in aces when he was in the Second Grade. The 2nd<\/sup> Grade teacher at French Immersion was going back to France to get married. On the last day of school the parents threw him a going-away and getting-married party at the local watering hole. That day Mr. Limon had had each student write something about what it means to be a good father. My kid was the only one who wrote in French; and here\u2019s what he wrote (as translated into English by Mr. Limon for all the parents in attendance): \u201cA good father teaches his kid responsibility and then gives his kid responsibility.\u201d How Proud Can a Dad Be!!<\/p>\n This coming Spring I will be teaching Jack how to drive (actually he\u2019s already gotten Mitzi into second gear), and it\u2019s still a legitimately debated question in our house as to how much of the teaching should be my way and how much Ellen\u2019s way. I tend to drive at the top end of the speed zone for safety \u2013 and I want Jack to find his own safety limits \u2013 but El is more inclined to harp on \u201cGo Slow\u201d and certainly not over the posted limit, and she\u2019s right about that. So far in life we\u2019ve had no broken bones, but this is probably more due to plumb good luck than to my way of teaching \u2013 It\u2019s for sure if Nick had fallen off the roof and broke his leg, I\u2019d have gotten the blame \u2013 Think About That One.<\/p>\n Tomorrow: A Post-Script about Nick<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From age one you get to marvel at the world anew through their eyes \u2013 like watching fast moving, giant, brightly colored train engines careening around the curves at Harper\u2019s Ferry, or the Hollidazzle Parade still dazzling in the drizzling … Continue reading