Tiny Tim ( Alabama Ethics Law)

       You walk in on the first day of school, and there they are. All alone in the corner, a little more than afraid. No one came to help fill out the paper work. No hugs and kisses at the door. No lunch box with notes from mom attached to little, shiny, Hershey Kisses. They have no idea what is on your supply list, or why you would even give them one. Parents?   For one reason or another, they are nowhere in sight.

      In that moment you smile, and say to yourself, “There you are, I have been waiting for you to get here.”

This year's Tiny Tim.

     Every classroom in America has one. That kid whose clothes aren't “just right.” Who could maybe use a bath. The one that the teacher has personally spent a fortune on buying supplies, or the occasional lunch.

Tiny Tim.

     The one who, when they are absent, your heart sinks. You are literally sick all day wondering and praying for that child. You know if they are with you then they are at least safe, and warm, and loved. You conjure up excuses to make a phone call just to check .

 You must know if your Tiny Tim is OK.

     Mixed emotions have been swirling around my head for the past few days. Not sure whether to laugh or cry over the newly issued mandate from the Alabama code of Ethics stating that teachers in Alabama cannot receive gifts (with monetary value) from students. On one hand you have to cry at the audacity of lawmakers who could fathom that a teacher works for gifts. On the other hand, laugh, because they have made laws that will articulate what you have told the kids for years.

“Don't buy me anything. You are my gift. I get you every day!”

     I think the most disturbing part in it all is the idea that the people who are in charge... just don't get it.

“The sponsor of the law, Republican Sen. Bryan Taylor, said it protects teachers against accusations of favoritism to students who give them big gifts and avoids embarrassment for low-income students. "In every classroom, there is a Tiny Tim who can't afford a turkey or ham," Taylor said.”

     Implementing laws to protect ...Tiny Tim? To stand and say that a teacher's favor can be won? That a Starbucks gift card can change my heart?      Really?

They have missed the obvious in my opinion...

... Tiny Tim,    you already have my heart.

The other kids may have money, families, and resources. They have help with homework, and hugs.   All my kids get my best, but you...

I find some way to give you just a little more.

I know the argument is over gifts. How much is ever enough? To say that the work a teacher does can be quantified and compensated... with stuff, to me  is....... obsurd.

 

 It is not about the presents, for me, it is about the Presence. 

     The voice saying, “Be my hands and feet. Love this child the way I love you. Show this child that you give YOUR best and it is for MY GLORY.”

      That gift is the one I work for. The only one I want. The present that can never be bought, but it is worth more than everything else.... My Savior's approval.


God bless us everyone.....