The Waldorf curriculum addresses this (typically in third grade, as many kids start later in Waldorf schools) through very practical work: farming, building construction, knitting, etc., which is seen as grounding and as building a new sense of competency for the child, as well as working with stories from the Old Testament, which addresses their new need to question the world around them.

Ooh, I was always afraid of being paddled when I was a little girl in Lutheran school! Some fears just don’t go away, do they?

Working with children is such a potential challenge … they don’t know any better than to push our buttons. Unfortunately, many adults see this as the child’s fault, rather than looking at their own triggers and sore spots. Thank you again for sharing this story … I’ve sent the link(s) for it to several parents of young kids who are friends of mine, and have voiced fears about what they’ll do to combat the school system when their quirky, intelligent, and high-maintenance children hit the streets. I can’t thank you enough for sharing this struggle; you never know who else might learn to save a child’s self-esteem by watching you.

Your comments about the finer points of paper and paper clips are also helpful. I need input from people experienced in education and have found my daughter Ivy’s input invaluable, too. Never hesitate to advise me; I need it!

Irene, your comments about what Miss Brown may be reacting to in Juniper were interesting, for I’ve wondered the same thing. Possibly, Juni’s personality is just as annoying to her as it is sometimes to us. This would not surprise me; she’s very lively! On the other hand, Miss Brown had known Juniper only four days when she suggested she may need Title I reading, which is targeted at deprived children, often those of minority race. Since Juniper is of minority race, I suspected racism. There is nothing in her test or school performance that suggests any type of learning disability. She has an above average IQ; so this certainly gave me pause.

As time has gone on, Miss Brown has continued to try to push Juniper into a “less than” category. I do suspect possible racism, but it could be something is triggered because Juniper is adopted; or because she is, as you suggest, a creative soul.

It is up to Juniper to stick with herself and to let the world know who she is. Who she is, is between her and God. We wait, as parents, to discover her bit by bit. Her husband and children and friends will continue to discover her; but in the end it will be for her as it is for all of us, a lifelong journey, much of it gone alone.

I think my job is to teach her how to be the person who can make that journey, and to teach her survival skills. I hope I’m doing that; but time will tell.