“The Wolves Within”
An old Grandfather, whose grandson came to him with
anger at a schoolmate who had done him an injustice,
said, “Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have
felt a great hate for those that have taken so much,
with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you
down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking
poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have
struggled with these feelings many times.”
He continued, “It is as if there are two wolves inside
me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in
harmony with all around him and does not take offense
when no offense was intended. He will only fight when
it is right to do so, and in the right way.”
“But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The
littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He
fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He
cannot think because his anger and hate are so
great. It is hard to live with these two wolves inside
me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.”
The boy looked intently into his Grandfather’s eyes
and asked, “Which one wins, Grandfather?”
The Grandfather solemnly said, “The one I feed.”
—Author Unknown
Timely and well said
What a lovely post, Sue. As I read many other parent posts, I thought back to my days as a parent in public school frustration land: can’t dictate curriculum, can’t get anyone to teach my child any sort of basic skills, broken system, apathy. I would become frustrated to distraction. Even though I am not, instinctively, a blamer (I don’t think, anyway), I found myself casting the ol’ eye out for someone on which to pin this whole sped problem. My family was coming apart over the lack of (my opinion—not court’s) “appropriate education.” No one cared what I thought because I wasn’t a certified teacher—even though that was just the dodge in this bureaucratic ballgame. (They really just didn’t know how to fix it, I believe, but wouldn’t be honest with me because they didn’t want to *pay* for appropriate.)
I finally decided to homeschool after trust and respect were gone and I couldn’t hide those feelings. Rather than fight a fight that lawyers would win and my family would lose, I homeschooled my child and went back to school to get the credentials to teach. My child reads and does arithmetic. He has other non-LD related problems—but he can construct his own learning in many ways. We are still fighting the higher math hurdle. Learning & the brain is our “personal legend” (for those of you who use the Alchemist’s terms).
Speaking of which, have any of you read the Alchemist? Sue, I know you would like it.
Well, some "higher math" stuff...
Be sure to drop in at the “math” section of my site — I put a lot of stuff up there this summer :)
This is literature...
“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho is a very short novel, but a powerful one and an international best seller. Though it was published in 1993, I just found it this spring. My more philosophical friends have loved it. It is a fable for adults about following your dreams. I do love a good fable. You?
I will drop in on your site very soon.
not me
I guess we all perceive things differently.
I do not consider my anger as hate. I consider it frustration and lack of power to right the wrongs. I will eventually come to peace with the whole special ed thing, hopefully soon.
Sorry if I do not appreciate analogy here.
Re: This is literature...
Me too… now as soon as I find the kids’ book I got notice for & bring it back, I’ll see if it’s at the library.
This is the second postof yours thatI can’t get the bl—dy printer to work. Anyway, thank you somuch for it. It happens to go with something I’ve been doing with son. We were studying Brother Wolf, Brandeis. Also would like to use it with Beaver scouts. Thanks again.