The Professor and his Student

Joshua and Hannah were having some major personality conflicts. Hannah would take great pleasure in annoying her big brother, who in turn would get incredibly upset with her. It was becoming quite a problem for the two of them. It even got to where Hannah didn’t have to do very much and Joshua was just sure she was annoying him on purpose. Sometimes she did annoy him on purpose, but she didn’t have to work very hard to do it. After much scolding and telling them they had to start getting along, I finally came upon the perfect solution.

Joshua is now Hannah’s special Alphabet instructor. Everyday he is to work with her on learning her letters. They have to work together. She must listen to him and he must teach her without losing his patience with her.

I told them that learning to work together in this way would help them when they are grown and must learn to work with other people. So far they have taken to this project with great gusto. Joshua is constantly thinking of new ways to teach Hannah her next letter. For a reward he gives her an index card that he draws a picture on of all sorts of things that begin with the letter she remembers. Right now she has Aa and Bb down. Tomorrow they will be working on Cc. After she meets his expectations and he is satisfied that she knows a letter well, she then has to undergo a test that I give her. If she passes my test she then gets to add a sticker to her card that Joshua gave her. So far this is working well, and they have actually been getting along better.

When I first presented this idea to Joshua, his first question was, how long do we do this. I told him, until she learns to read. In other words he is to keep working with her for a long time. This isn’t meant to be a torture session, but they are to have fun and work together. My goal for them is not so much that Hannah learns her letters, as it is for them to learn to work with each other. I’ll be sure to give updates on their progress.

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)