The new school year will soon be upon us. August will soon sweep by, and fall will be here. Fall is probably my favorite season, but I cannot help but always feel sad to see summer go. I think that was ingrained into me from my childhood. I hated school. Kindergarten was great. After that I was miserable. I didn’t know it then, but I have a form of dyslexia. It’s hard to describe. To put it simply, I don’t process written information the way most people do. Consequently, most learning methods did not work for me. High School was a little better, thanks to a couple of good, encouraging teachers. By the time I eventually went to college, I began to develop my own methods of learning, and all went fine. But I digress. Whenever I see the sad eyes in a child who is reminded, he or she will soon return to school, I empathize. I used to cry. Not when anyone could see, but I did. Watching our youngest child struggle with the same learning difficulty taught me a lot about my own learning. He too began to turn it around in High School thanks to a gifted teacher. If you have a child that is struggling with school, I have some advice. Help them find their giftedness, something they are good at. It’s there within them somewhere. The Lord put it there. In my case it was geometry, (go figure). It was the first time I ever got an A in a class. In the case of our son, he discovered he had a real knack for industrial arts, working with his hands, inspired by a great teacher. As he excelled in this subject, everything else rose with it, all other subjects. No more detentions or misbehaviors. Today he is a State Patrol officer and a very good one. Our children do not need unearned rewards, but they do need encouragement. Help them find their gift. And thank God for good teachers! The Lord only knows what I would have become without them. Pray for them and when you have the opportunity, thank them. Yours in Christ our Lord. Fr. Sid