Honoring Their Potential

Some years ago, I came across a newspaper interview with Fred Adams, founder of the prestigious Utah Shakespearean Festival. The man has always loved the Bard, and illustrates this by telling about his first day in Kindergarten. Fred's teacher asks the children if they know the story of the three bears. Of course, everyone does. Er, everyone but Fred. The woman is astounded. A child who doesn't know the three bears? Certainly Fred is just shy, or forgetful. No, he assures her, he's never heard that story. Never in his young life. What stories does the boy know? On the spot, he provides an outline of Hamlet. Now flabbergasted, the woman calls Fred's mother in amazement. How had Mrs. Adams done it? And that was when I learned a pivotal lesson -- one that has stuck with me ever after.

So often, you and I want to choose the just right book.

Ideally, we'd like it to be spot-on our child's reading level, suited to his/her unique interests, set in a familiar setting, and preferably even have the right type of illustrations. These goals are admirable and noble. In fact, at the beginning of the school year, I used to teach a lesson on how students could find the "just right" book for themselves.

However, in our attempts to create the perfect experience for our children, we sometimes deprive them of the imperfect. And the imperfect has a place, too. I've done it, you've done it. At the library, at the bookstore, at home. Your child chooses a book that's a bit beyond them, or perhaps one that's too easy. We coax, cajole, or simply insist on a different book.

But when you and I read a book that takes a bit too long, has a story line a bit more complex, or has vocabulary that's sooo clearly beyond them (or they just want Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for the 1,400,000 time) what we're really doing is expressing a sense of confidence in where they are headed and what steps are next for them. Of course, I doubt Mrs. Adams was truly reading Shakespeare to Fred. She was probably, however, willing to tell and re-tell a complicated, time consuming story with enthusiasm and energy. Because she knew who Fred could be, and she was willing to help him become that man.