Citizen Schools Follow Up

I was so struck by the Citizen Schools program that I had to contact them. They were quick to respond. I have already had my email passed through to the state director here in Texas. We'll see what happens from here. My brother commented that he was in the fortunate position of knowing quite a few professionals in a variety of fields and hoped that his children could benefit from working with all of these people. I am currently reading The Key to Your Child's Heart by Gary Smalley. He talks frequently about the impact of having others speak into the lives of your children. He also has a lot to share about helping set up discipline in your home and goals with your children. It is overall a good book. I am not sure if I would totally follow his structure for discipline but I like the general idea.

One thing I truly appreciate about my parents is that they tried to find trustworthy adults for us to be around, learn from and go to when we were teenagers. They found great coaches for my brother to encourage his athletic interests and they found good teachers and friends to encourage my writing and faith interests. Instead of feeling that they must be solely responsible for our upbrining, they shared us with others who were able to encourage our passions and help us to grow. This is the type of parent I hope to be, one that develops a community of support that can help my children develop into who God has created them to be.

In some ways, Citizen Schools attempts to do this for a population that may not have access to good role models or certain types of skills or information. They help create a network for teens that opens up the possibilities of life to them and calls them to be apprentices in a variety of fields. This type of encouragement can make the difference in the life direction of a teen. It did for me.