Loyalty counts! I am always reminded of the beautiful painting of the sheepdog resting his head on the bed of his late master. The empty bed and the faithful dog certainly draw a touching picture of loyalty. It seems that dogs really are man’s best friend. When life seems to come at us like a whirlwind, our faithful dogs are always there beside us…ready to lick our wounds or to offer a soft fur coat to gently and absentmindedly stroke as we soothe our own anxiety. I have owned dogs, cats, and parakeets, but only the dog remains loyal. The other pets seem to be caught up in their own affairs and have no time to spend upon positive strokes and comforting silence. So, thank you, God, for creating the wonderful, loyal dog!
Loyalty among people is quite a different matter. In fact, loyalty issues have grown to be high on the list of problems among people in social groups. The Internet has brought a new level of interconnectedness which opens many opportunities for misunderstandings among loyal friends. The increased number of divided families because of divorce has also challenged loyalties among children. My heart has been heavy for some of the children I’ve taught over these many years. Guilty feelings arise as children wonder if they are being “disloyal” to one or the other parent when decisions must be made about visits, custody, etc. I’ve seen “macho” middle-school students actually cry in front of peers…all because they felt pressured into being disloyal to one of their parents.
We recently received a question from someone as to why we don’t give loyalty discounts to families who are part of our school for several years. All I can say is they truly do not understand how expensive it is to provide a school with all the activities, equipment, staff and faculty, and materials necessary. Loyalty is appreciated, but it could be seen as a two-way street. Do those same parents want to reward our dedicated teachers, staff, and coaches for their loyalty in being present day after day, week after week, game after game, etc.? None of us expect a loyalty “gift” or “discount”… we are just doing the best job we can for our students to be successful.
One of the greatest problems we have faced over the years has been getting teachers to be loyal to the A.B.R.A.I.N. methods of teaching. We have had wonderful teachers over the years, but we have also had some who would not be loyal to those methods. It is not fair to the children to have a “difficult” year because a teacher was not loyal to the practices and methods advanced by Lawton Academy. Thank goodness, those instances have only been a few. However, it takes a lot of extra effort to correct the effects of such a disloyal teacher. So, we are extremely careful in our hiring practices. We involve more than one person in the hiring process. We then present our methods to the new faculty members so that they can effectively teach our students.
Recently, as the on-going issue of public versus private schools was brought to the forefront of the state news, I heard those who are “loyal” to the public sector challenge and charge that all private schools do not have to test their children like the public schools do. I understand the loyalties, but the statement is simply not true in Lawton Academy. We test every grade every year with the nationally normed tests: Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. (We do not test pre-kindergarten children who are not ready for such concrete skills testing.) Our secondary students take the PSAT. This is an expensive process, but it helps us see how our program is doing compared to the rest of the nation. It also helps us determine what resources need to be upgraded to better assure student success.
Last of all, I am proud of the loyalty displayed by our students and coaches as we have participated in the Indiahoma Co-op for sports and fine arts. An article appeared in the Cotton Electric Newspaper praising the Indiahoma track team for positive results at a recent track meet. All but two of the team members pictured were from our school. I thought to myself…That’s a true test of loyalty. Our students accepted praise as Indiahoma Track athletes…loyal to their teammates and loyal to the Co-op of a private and a public school…loyal to the betterment of both schools and their students.” I only wish more governing entities, organizations, and people were as loyal as these young students seem to be.
- Kay