Friday, March 11, 2011

answered prayers

so picture the silly victory dance a football player does when he gets a touch down..... that is me right now.

i have not written about garrets struggles with second grade on the blog yet, but today i am thankfully writing about his awesome day and the past few awesome weeks.

i'll start with a quick recap. when garret started second grade, within the first week we knew it was going to be a tough year. he would come home every day with at least 2 marks. marks were her way of discipline. if they got more than 20 marks in 9 weeks they would get a unsatisfactory in conduct and not be able to go on the end of the year special trip. at the rate he was going he was getting "U's" on every report card.

when we saw this was happening we really got on garret and were upset with him and punishing him when he got home. things werent getting any better. we thought maybe it was the transition of having the new baby in the house. we would ask him why he got the marks an some days he wouldnt even know. we were really struggling on how to handle the situation. within the first 9 days of school we had already requested a meeting with his teacher. we talked and seemed to not really get anywhere with her.

after more and more weeks of hard days at school, dave and i came to the conclusion that we needed to lay off garret at home because he was getting in trouble for things like not sitting up straight and playing with his pencil.

then things started falling apart with this grades, he wasnt failing, but i know it wasnt as good as he could do. he was not finishing class work so he would have lots of homework to do. we would fight an cry (both of us) almost every night trying to get the work done. his reading scores were dropping so we talked with the principal an vice principal and they were going to get him some extra reading help during the day. however his teacher was only occasionally sending him to do this and then sending him while the rest of the kids were outside playing! so sad.

ok trying to shorten this up a little.... dave and i had talked and prayed and cried over this situation then christmas break came. we had prayed that things we be better when he got back, maybe his teacher and him got a little refreshed after the break.... things were worse. i got a call from his teacher one day saying that she thought he needed to be held back and repeat second grade. while dave and i had been weighing all our options that was one of them. he is the youngest in his class, but this had never been a problem before. anyway, i called dave crying and he went right over to the school to speak with the principal and vice principal again. they have been completely supportive of us and garret through this entire process.

we knew garret did not want to be in that class anymore and for a long time dave and i didnt want him in that class anymore either but we were trying our best to make it work. so when we got this phone call we asked that he be moved to another class. the vice principal said she thought that it was time as well and would be moving him. just like that. no fight, just a peaceful answer to prayer.

we couldnt request a teacher (there are 5 second grade teachers) they would just put him in the class with the least amount of students. dave and i really wanted him to be with Mrs. Marshall. Garret did too although we never told him that changing classes was an option. he just always said he wanted to be in her class.

that afternoon the vice principal came out to the car in pick up line and told me he would be in Mrs. Marshalls class! i just started crying. tears of joy and relief and even some tears of fear. i was afraid that things might not change. that his behavior would still be unsatisfactory and that he might not be ready for third grade. i prayed so hard that i would be open to this other teachers opinion and do what was best for garret.

garret has been in Mrs Marshalls class now since the middle of January. he has done AMAZING! he LOVES going to school, where before he would cry at night not wanting to go the next morning. he has all A's and one B on his last report card and has had NO marks.

when he was in the first teachers class i would pray that she would just love garret and than i thought, ok well its not her job to love garret, but it is her job to help him to love to learn. well that wasnt happening either. Mrs. Marshall loves my son and is creating a love for learning in him as well. we can not be more happy with the transition.

so this afternoon garret came running to the car with a huge grin on his face. fridays are test day and they have 5 tests in one day. spelling, vocab, grammar, reading, and TCAP. it is a long day of testing i am sure. well garret ran up to the window and showed me a note that mrs. marshall had written for me. he couldnt even wait to get in the car. he got 100% on all of his tests today!!!

again i am crying as i write this. he was so proud, we are so proud and mrs. marshall was so proud....... and GOD IS SO GOOD!

this has been one of the hardest things i have had to deal with. seeing your child struggle is so hard. i really dont like confrontation so dealing with all this has really stretched me. i have grown a lot in this process. i know things happen for a reason and i know my god is with me every step of the way.
well the pic is a little blurry but i have to share this as well. mrs marshall is a huge UT fan. her entire room is decorated in UT orange with VOLS stuff all over it. grandma kay had bought this shirt for garret over a year ago. he NEVER wore it. not sure why but he said he didnt like it. now i cant keep in clean. he wears it at least once a week. he wants to make her proud, and that makes my heart a very happy momma heart.

8 comments:

Tara said...

Oh Bonnie, I am so happy for you and for Garrett. As a former 2nd grade teacher, my heart just sunk as I read about the experiences he's been having. I am so glad that his new teacher loves him, and that he loves her. Yay!!!!!

katie said...

yay! so happy for garrett! a good teacher makes all the difference! you know i still write letters with mrs. lampen :)

Jill said...

Bonnie that is awesome! This news is making me smile. I know we have talked before about school struggles and I am so glad that he is doing so well. Teachers hold in their hands the power to make a child excel or fall... so glad that Garrett is soaring once again!

Big EZ said...

I'm never a UT fan, but today, out of respect for Mrs. Marshall and her efforts to encourage and love Garrett: GO VOLS!!!!

Anonymous said...

I love it! God has Garrett right in the palm of His hands!

Anonymous said...
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scott/nicole said...

Bon, oh how our hearts broke when we first began to read your blog but we ended in thanksgiving and rejoicing in our good Lord! We too are so proud of your little man and we praise God for the amazing parents that he has!
When it comes time for Scott and I to embark on the journey of parenthood we will look to you and dave for inspiration and wisdom. What a beautiful, god centered example you set for all those blessed to know you.
We love you, miss you, and pray for all of you daily! xxoo Nicole

Teresa said...

I hate that Garret has had a hard time with school! Teachers make such an impression...I remember my favorites, but I also remember the one's I didn't like so well. (