As we
journeyed with Joash through his assessment, we faced many hurdles. Ten
different schools, three years of missed classes—each move a step toward
finding the right support. But in the midst of this struggle, God made a way.
Despite everything, Joash didn’t just catch up; he dived forward, skipping
those three lost years. This is a story of God's enabling grace, showing us
that His plans for Joash were bigger than we could have imagined.
I came
across a poem during one of Joash’s early consultations and adapted it here:
A meeting was held in heaven’s light,
“It’s time again for a journey bright,”
Said the angels to the Lord on high,
“This child needs love to reach the sky.
His path won’t be a straight, clear line,
In learning, he may lag behind.
Through schools, he’ll wander, ten or more,
Seeking the key to unlock the door.
With ‘dyslexia’ as his silent guide,
He'll press on, with faith inside.
So choose the parents who will care,
With patience, strength, and love to spare.
They may not understand at first,
The winding road, the trials, the thirst.
But as the journey carries on,
Their bond with him will grow so strong.
Though struggles come, and grades may fall,
God will lead him through it all.
And in time, they’ll surely see,
The plan that heaven had decreed.
With every step, and every test,
Joash will rise and do his best.
In love, in faith, in God's embrace,
He’ll find his way and set the pace.”
(Adapted from the poem 'Heaven’s
Special Child,' often attributed to Edna Massimilla or Anonymous).
Through the Eyes of a Child: A Learning Adventure
Every child’s journey through school is a world of its own, filled with
excitement, challenges, and unexpected lessons. This story follows the path of
a curious boy navigating the ups and downs of learning, from the warmth of
caring teachers to moments of loneliness and confusion. Join us as we explore
the experiences that shaped his educational adventure and the people who made a
difference along the way.
Twenty-five
years had passed when Joash and I were talking about the teachers who left
their mark. He brought up a vivid memory of his Hindi teacher at Kodaikanal. He
recalled how the Hindi teacher had called him aside to return his Hindi
notebook after correction. The teacher asked him to come closer, showed him the
note page, then suddenly closed the book, slapped him across the face with it,
and threw it away. With his chin trembling and a ringing sound in his ears,
Joash stood frozen, unsure whether to run and pick up the book or remain where
he was. This was the first time I was hearing this story, and I was truly moved
with compassion. My eyes flooded with tears as I imagined the loneliness he
must have faced at that age, far away from home.
With that
memory lingering, let's return to the beginning of Joash's educational
journey—where the path of thorns and roses first began.
The Path
Laid by God
God not
only selects the right homes to send each of those children but also paves a
way for them to trek, providing people and angels to lead them on. But on those
paths, everything is not roses, but mixed with thorns. Not everyone is an
angel; there are also messengers of evil. Yet, we know that the One who laid
the path will lead on until the destiny is reached.
Searching
for the Right School
To know
how to manage our child’s schooling challenges progressively, day by day, we
were looking for at least a parent who had trekked that path, or at least a
teacher who had succeeded in training a dyslexic child, or a school that truly
helped children come and pass through—unlike professionals who could write
articles but lacked the know-how in managing the child’s academic development.
Kodaikanal
School Opportunity
A family
friend, Joseph Jacob, and his wife Laila had guests visiting them at home. They
were the Brights, who ran KPS group of schools, including one in Kodaikanal.
They discussed our schooling struggles and offered a trial to send Joash to
their school in Kodaikanal for a term. Joash was 8 years old and we journeyed
to Kodaikanal for the first time, along with a couple of other friends who were
also joining the school.
Teachers
make a world of Difference
At the
school, Mrs. Chen was his class teacher, and Mrs. Frederic was his warden. Mrs.
Frederic was an Anglo-Indian, and Mrs. Chen was Chinese. Her husband, Mr.
Dennis Chen, was the headmaster of the school. They took care of him. I think
almost every week, the students at the boarding school had a time to write
letters to their parents.
We looked
forward to his letters. In Class II, we assume the content of the letter might
have been written on the board by the class teacher, and the ward must have
copied it in pencil. The writing in the letters was corrected with an eraser
and pencil, likely by Mrs. Chen herself, and she added a few sentences with a
blue ink ballpoint pen at the end or back of the page. One such comment reads:
“Joash has improved considerably
in his work, but he needs to develop his concentration and understanding power.
I am sharing this with you so that when you pray, you will be more specific and
thank Jesus for his gradual improvement.” – Mrs. Chen
Occasionally,
we had parental visits. Joash made friends easily and adapted well to the school
and the climate of the new environment. He had picked up communication skills
well. Once, he was infected with chickenpox, and the school management took
care of him. He was promoted to Class III with good records.
The next
year was different. His new class teacher was much stricter. Joash’s letters
were almost similar but corrected by the class teacher with a red pen, like
classwork or homework, and initialed by her with the same red pen.
Once,
when I visited the school, I had the chance to meet her. She was a young
Anglo-Indian from Quilon with excellent communication skills. Her complaint
about Joash was that he would ask for permission to go to the dorm to get an
eraser or a pencil, and he would hang around there longer or not return. She
had several other complaints about his classwork or homework and how he lagged
behind in his work.
My
response to her was simple: I briefed her about the whole reason why he had
been admitted there. For seven days a week, our son was at the school. I had no
clue how I could manage his academic discipline if a trained teacher at the
school herself didn’t know. As she was just another teacher who couldn’t
understand Joash’s potential, we knew Joash would be leaving very shortly.
We are
thankful for everyone who came into his life journey. We fondly remember his
time at Kodaikanal and all those who were part of it, especially Mr. Prem Bright,
who took him in and even offered 75% concession, and those who also helped us
pay his fee- Joseph Jacob, C.V. Jacob, and Aaboo Varghese.
I had
heard about home-schooling. If parents are capable of handling the education
and academic training of children, why should we send him to school at all? We
knew, at this phase of life and considering his special needs, that we were not
equipped for home-schooling.
Kody to
Kottayam: Special Learning Center
Joash had lost one year while joining the school at Kodaikanal. After two years there, we tried a special learning center in Kottayam. Mrs. Benjamin from Bangalore was running this center for children with learning issues. She briefed us that we should not keep shopping for schools but leave him in one place for a longer time. By the end of the year, we felt things were not improving much, though we just wanted him to be in a school at least for social reasons. So, we approached another small school in our neighborhood. I spoke with the manager- again, yet another retired professor- and explained everything I could to send our son there. I spoke with the manager—yet another retired professor—and explained everything I could to support our son's enrollment there. By the end of the year, the manager still could not comprehend how Joash was learning differently, let alone the teachers.
Curiosity
and Exploration
We were
at Japhia’s (Joash’s younger sister who is three years younger and did her KG
at a very well-known school) school program, and we were in the open air, almost
towards the last rows of the crowd. Suddenly, we noticed that Joash was not
with us. I wondered if he had mixed in with the student crowd. Leaving the rest
of the family, I began searching for him. I finally located him near the stage
with an older boy who was part of a play that had just finished. The boy had a
big play gun with him, and I found Joash was learning about the plastic machine
gun the boy held.
Joash was
very curious, inquisitive, and always exploratory. “How is paint made?” “How
does it get its colour?”, “How are timber logs shaped into a chair or a table?”
These were just a few of the many questions he would ask. This led me to stop
during one of our trips to see how trees were shaped at a sawmill, visit a
brickyard to understand how bricks are made, and seek out a chemical engineer
to explain how paints were produced.
Joash’s
learning style was different, and we often wondered if we were only wasting
time trying to orient teachers or school management about his needs, just to
keep him there for social reasons.
Tying it all Together
As a faculty member at a college, I once discussed our struggles with Joash’s
education with the founder of the institution, a well-read and globally
recognized leader. His advice was stern: "You
have to break his will. Spank him below the knees to discipline, but not to
hurt."
I also spoke with a retired professor, the founder of a counseling institute
in Kerala, who, after hearing my concerns, commented, "Not everyone can become a doctor or an engineer; you need to plan
his education accordingly." But that was never our concern. We weren’t
focused on what Joash should study or become. Our only worry was finding a
school or learning environment that suited him—or figuring out how we could
better support his growth ourselves. ‘Not many counselors and leaders possess
the grace to understand, let alone guide, those they claim to help.’
Looking
back, Joash's educational journey was filled with challenges, unexpected
encounters, and valuable lessons. Every teacher, school, and experience—whether
kind or tough—played a role in shaping him. While the path was often difficult,
it was also a time of growth and resilience. We are deeply thankful to all who
crossed his path, each contributing in their own way. His story reminds us that
true learning often happens in the most unexpected ways.
To be continued…..
Other Posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment