Acknowledgement is the act of admitting or verifying the truth of something.   Wow!  We sure live in a time of drought in our country when it comes to this area of our lives.  It seems today that no one wants to admit responsibility, thus everyone is blaming someone or something else.  It reminds me of the old story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

            There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.  Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.  Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.  It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.

            It seems no person in the spotlight of media coverage wants to take responsibility for anything anymore.  Yet, if we are willing to admit our mistakes or weaknesses, we might find a more rewarding experience and lifestyle awaits us.  Let me give you a perfect example or two from this past week.

            My husband was having trouble getting his chemistry students to understand the concepts he was teaching them these past four weeks of school.  He gave a test and no one passed it.  So, he addressed his students and asked them why they thought they failed the test.  After several reasons were given (many the usual ones), he told them those were not the reason they failed.  Then he acknowledged that he failed because he hadn’t figured out a way to get the concepts across to them.  They were shocked at this acknowledgement on his part.  Then, he began teaching them different ways until they seemed to be getting it.  When he gave another test to the class, the lowest score was an 80%.

            Mr. Johnson asked the students why they felt the test scores were better.  One of the girls responded, “You didn’t seem so intimidating.”  His acknowledgement of weakness brought courage to his students.  It was one of those “aha” experiences teachers never forget.

            The second example was an email I received early in the morning before I left for school.  It was from one of my former Hmong students who came to our school in the post-VietNam era.  He thanked me and my staff members of that time for taking the time to love and care for them and teach them as we did.  Our work with these students was a heart-melting experience.  These children were displaced by an awful war.  They had never been to school a day in their lives; instead, they ran from bombs, gunfire, and soldiers killing their family members.  They could only eat uncooked rice dropped from the US helicopters as they hid in the jungles. 

            My former student brought me up to date on these Hmong friends: many are doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals.  He is himself a lawyer and school board member in the Twin Cities area.  He acknowledged that our group of refugees far surpassed others they met in their moves to California, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  That acknowledgement validated my belief in the methods we are using at Lawton Academy more than ever.  I am so blessed to have been touched by their lives.

-          Kay