PARENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I dreamt I stood in a studio
and watched two sculptors there.
The clay they used was a young child’s mind,
and they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher; the tools used
were books, music and art.
One was a parent, who worked with a guiding hand
and a gentle, loving heart.
Day after day, the teacher toiled
with a touch that was deft and sure.
While the parent labored by their side
and polished and smoothed it o’er.
And when at last their task was done,
they were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had molded into the child
could neither be sold nor bought.
And each agreed they would have failed
if each had worked alone.
For behind the teacher stood the school,
and behind the parent, the home.
It’s a School Night!
By Ali and Cindy Parente
T’was the night before school started
When all through the town
The parents were cheering
It was a riotous sound
By eight the kids were washed
And tucked into bed
When memories of homework
Filled them with dread
New pencils, new folders,
New notebooks, too
New teachers, new friends -
Their anxiety grew
The parents just giggled when they
Learned of this fright
And shouted upstairs -
GO TO BED - IT’S A SCHOOL NIGHT!