Piers.  What a kid.

Equal parts pain-in-the-ass and sheer beauty.  I guess ‘exuberant’ is the most applicable adjective for his personality spectrum, from his expressions of anger and frustration to his expressions of joy and gratitude.

When I think of Piers’ future, I get fearful.  I’m sure he’ll be fine no matter what, but I seriously wonder about adequately tapping the unique potential contained in this little walking thunderstorm – there’s so much creativity and energy and positivity and clarity and strength and sensitivity and intelligence coiled up in this boy, but I can’t snag it just yet, or I don’t know how, and I’m afraid that if I don’t hook him on something soon then a pattern of mediocrity will establish itself.  As the ‘primary caregiver’ – so to speak – I feel most responsible to do this, to ‘enable’ him, to ‘unlock’ him.  But he fights me, bores easily, bucks structure of any form, and is sceptical of any authority.  You might say he insists on learning things the ‘hard way.’

Well, the ‘hard way’ if you apply any of the ‘typical’ (read: medieval, or better yet ’19th century boarding school’) teaching/instructional methods, with the corresponding expectations.  Recently, however, I’ve had reason for hope.  While I’m realising I’ve been blindly stubborn in my approach to him (hierarchical and, consequently, adversarial – I am slowly unlearning that perspective due to some recent exposure to critical pedagogy, and good shake of the head), Piers seems to be ‘getting’ how there really can be joy and freedom in obedience, in paying attention and taking time, in trusting those who have his well-being in mind.  It seems we’re meeting half-way.  That’s good.  It’s good because while I’m learning how to dig into him and therefore can better foster him ‘outside of the box’, he won’t wind up a complete and utter misfit.

That and he absolutely loves Star Wars.  A child after my own heart…