August 20, 2018
New Semester (Fall, 2018)
“Just dropped” blinks the text message.
Louis just dropped Christina and Rebeccah off at St. Johns River State College for their 3rd and 2nd semesters, respectively. (Christina took Summer A classes while Rebeccah took a break.)
This made me think about many things:
I love the educational opportunities that St. John’s County offers students. Only a few options are: traditional public schools, charter schools, special programs, access to online school, extra-curricular activities, career tracks like at First Coast Tech High School, and dual enrollment at the area’s state college, St John’s River State College. (We can choose to use private school & home school options, but that isn’t “offered” by the county!)
I know several young people, from public, private, or home education starts, who wanted to become mechanics, chefs, stylists, or other direct-career fields. These young people entered First Coast Tech’s programs and graduated with a technical certificate and experience; most I knew were hired before they graduated.
Some, who are college degree seeking start with dual enrollment or a special accelerated program that gives them an easy transition from high school to college with actual college classes for college credit. (This is what Christina and Rebeccah have chosen to do… actually, pretty much begged to do, heaven knows Mom wasn’t ready.)
Christina is aiming her degree toward Embry-Riddle University. She takes only courses that will lead her into or be needed for the “Aviation Engineering with Flight” degree she wants.
Rebeccah’s goal is “Biology Major.” She plans on getting a Bachelors degree in Biology and transferring into the University of Florida’s Dental school. (Her current goal is Orthodontist or Orthodontic Surgeon, although her interests have varied: Obstetrician, Brain Surgeon, Neurosurgeon, and Research Geneticist. It seems something in medicine and science will be her future career so Biology Major pretty much lays the groundwork for any of those.)
You know, I’m not sure I’m ready for all of this yet!
Stacy sent me a this cute collage of pictures she took when she first visited “baby” Lucas…
…and I think there’s a part of me that still sees all of my children as being in that “baby stage” with a cute little pudgy face, big smile, and few teeth. I’m not ready to be dropping my kids off at college – even if it’s just two classes each!
I’m watching them bloom into young women. I can’t hold them back. (As much as I’d like to.) I have to let them go so they can grow. I can’t stop time. I can’t always keep them in my sight. I can’t hide them from the cruelty, bitterness, and hatred in our world.
So I have to shift my focus from can’t to can.
I can encourage them, guide them, give advice (that hopefully they will ponder) to them, and listen to them. That’s it. I have to trust God that He knows their hearts. I have to choose to listen to them and pray that I give counsel (yes, advice) that God has opened their hearts to hear.
Sometimes I think it’s happening too quickly. However, I would have relished such an educational opportunity as a twelve year old! If all those college books I worked though myself between 12 and 15 had been college credit I would have had my BA at 15. (My Dad’s idea of “graduating high school” was to have us go through his college math up to pre-calculus and work through every giant college level science and history book he and my mother had collected – we had a college education when graduating.) When I remind myself of that, I consider my oldest girls’ adventure as a natural progression for those who desire a college education and push themselves to high levels anyway.
Someone asked me, “will you make all your kids go to college early?”
The serious answer is “no.” Each child is a unique individual. Not every dream needs a college degree. Not every learner progresses at the same speed.
What I do is require them to learn. Yes, we have a “base” requirement just like any school should. I encourage them to do their best. I encourage them to follow their passions. I encourage them to experience new things and try anything at least once. (You never know what inspires you. My Dad didn’t decide his career until he was required to take a “foreign language” class at a time when computer coding was considered a foreign language! That one class changed the direction of his entire life!)
Will all of my children even go to college? I hope so; but what means more to me than material success is that they follow Jesus with all their heart, find a career they love, and enjoy their life to the best of their ability!
All this goes through my head in a few minutes. I smile at the thought of them meeting professors and getting the feel for this semester’s new classes. I shift my focus to getting home so I can see if Kimberly and Jaquline need any help with their math (but Teaching Textbooks’ Pre-Algebra has self-check, so usually they don’t), if Jillian has a new story so we can edit it together for grammar and spelling (which Christina and Kimberly had already done with her!), and listen to Lucas shout “one-two-three-FOUR!” as he races down the hallway with his BIG truck.
I’m reminded to enjoy every step in life. This is just another level, but this time, it’s Mom who needs to “Level-up!” and just wrap these young women in prayers!
Thanks for reading!
Type at you next time…
~Nancy Tart