Posts Tagged ‘School’
New Era Article – The Popular Table
This weekend I had some extra time to just sit at the table and read the newspaper. It doesn’t happen that often so I tried to enjoy it. I read through the comics and then looked for something else to read. On our kitchen table was the New Era. It is a mormon magazine for teenagers. I cracked open the cover and read down through the titles of the articles. One particular article caught my eye so I opened to the page. It was an article entitled The Popular Table. I read down a few paragraphs and liked what I read so I decided to start over but this time, I would read out loud. My 11 year old daughter was sitting at the computer playing games. I wasn’t sure if she was listening, but I read the article anyway.
I completed the article and with a little bit of feeling crackling in my voice, I put down the magazine and looked at my little girl. She peaked over the top of the laptop monitor at me and said, “I had to do that exact thing this year in middle school.” I was shocked by both facts that she had to decide whether to sit at the “Popular Table” or not, and that she had been listening. She then proceded to tell me about her experience of having to decide whether to sit with the popular girls with bad language and popular clothes, or sit with a group of girls that had her same morals and standards. She even told me which table was the popular one at her school. I grinned and felt warm inside knowing that she had made the hard decision and that she knew how to choose good friends. The story would have been great if it had ended at this point but somehow, it got better.
Out of the next room behind the wall and on the couch came a lower voice that said, “I had to make that decision too”. It was my 13 year old boy from the living room. He had been eavesdropping on my reading and wanted to chime in with his version of what had happend to him. He loves to play sports and all of the popular kids were on his baseball and basketball teams. He was popular but, year after year these teammates began to change. Eventually, Andy had to make the decision to leave the “Popular Table” and move to a table with boys with his same standards.
I am so happy to hear that both of my kids have made the hard decision to find friends that have the same standards and values that we have as members of the LDS Church. It is not an easy choice because the appeal and the pressure from the “Popular Kids” is hard to resist. I am blessed to have two wonderful kids that have made the tough decisions. These decisions will guide them to a happier and more fulfilling life.
Young Ambassadors
Last weekend we took the kids to Burley to watch a production of BYU’s Young Ambassadors. I don’t know if all of my readers know who or what the Young Ambassadors are. They are a group organized at Brigham Young University (BYU). They are a group of college students that learn to sing and dance. They include a life band as well. Most, if not all, are members of the LDS Church. Many people try out for this group but only a few make the dance team. Every year they travel around the world to perform. Because they are from BYU and from the Mormon Church, they are called Young Ambassadors. They truly are top notch performers and all around good people.
When driving to Burley, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and my kids definitely had low expectations. I was a little hesitant because it was $10.00 per seat. Yikes! A family of 6, which we are, had to spend $60.00 to get into the theater. Ouch! I wish they had some sort of family discount or something.
As the music started I could tell that our kids were thinking it was going to be two long hours of boring dancing. After the first routine filled with dancers and awesome singers, all of the kids were on the front of their seats with big grins. I could see that they were going to enjoy the show. Each act was exciting and fun to watch. All of the performers looked like they were having a blast and the music was of the highest quality.
By intermission, I was getting a tug at my arm with the request to buy the CD’s they were offering in the foyer. Of course, another 15 to 20 bucks for the CD. So we passed since the tickets were so expensive.
I am so glad that we went. We always want to encourage our kids to be involved in music and dance. The show just gave them a glimpse of what they could do if they followed through with some of their training. I think our kids renewed their commitment to piano, clogging, singing, and dance. I hope they see the potential and look at these great role models up on stage and say, “I want to be just like that guy or girl”.
After the show, one of the performers walked down the isle and stopped at our row. He shook each of our kids hands and asked their names. He genuinely showed interest in our kids and remembered their names as they left. I think that was a special moment in each of their lives. It sure impressed me.
The other great thing about this visit to Burley was that we saw a number of other LDS Families that were there with their kids. I really felt like we were in good company with the families that we saw in attendance. They are all striving to do the same as we were, encourage our kids to be involved in singing and dance. I felt like we were at the right place, at the right time.
College
My son had an assignment yesterday to look up information about 3 different Colleges or Universities. I thought it was an excellent assignment so I went searching around the web to help him find the information he needed.
We came across a wonderful website that shows all of the different LDS schools that are available. It shows how many students attend the school, the different colleges that are available, tuition costs, admissions standards. It was just great. So, if you have any kids looking at going to college at one of the LDS Colleges, you definitely want to visit this site. It has information on BYU Provo, BYU Idaho, BYU Hawaii, College Prep, LDS Business College and the Institute of Religion.
I thought I would also mention that by doing this little assignment for school, he was able to complete a Duty to God requirement. The requirement is on page 22 of the Teachers DTG program item number 7. It was nice to use one of the School assignments to pass this one off. And, because the website is so cool, it was entertaining.
