"She is so cruel......."

These are the words that came from the mouth of my precious 6th grade son. The sharpest of my children. He's emotional. Strong-willed. Romantic. Whose spirit is being compromised and nearly broken by a teacher he cannot relate to.

It's been a tough 6th grade year for him....as it should be. For a time.

6th grade is difficult. No longer do teachers allow homework to be turned in several weeks late...and not take points off. No longer do teachers stand over the kids....imploring them to get their work done. And give them full credit. No longer do teachers send multiple notices home about events, meetings and opportunities.

No. 6th grade is when students are thrown into the pool and expected to swim. Right away.

Granted, they give the kids some grace at the beginning of the year. Reinforcing good behavior and training them on middle school procedures and expectations. But after a week or so....that's it. They are on their own.

Very little grace. Very little lee-way. And no emotion. And my sweet Joshua is having a hard time with this. We have had several emotional moments this school year. Tears. Pleading to be taken out of her class. Off the team. And out of the school. He wants out. And he can hardly think about anything else.

Of course, he needs to learn responsibility. But that's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about a lady who doesn't offer a lot of positive feedback. Who doesn't seem very caring.

Last night, it all came out again. The hurt. The anguish. The frustration. The tears. And all I could do was sit and watch. There was nothing I could do for him, but listen. And tell him we were praying. And love him.

He wants to switch schools so badly, he can't stand it. He wants to go with me each day. And while I really have no fundamental problem with that, I want to make sure we are making that choice (should we choose to make it) for the right reasons. I don't want to reinforce to Josh that it's acceptable to run from a situation....just because we're uncomfortable. Sometimes, God wants us to endure such trials, so we are more focused on Him. To refine us. To challenge us in our faith. To teach us to rely fully on Him.

But it grieves me to know he is so unhappy. To hear him say his teacher is 'cruel.' That's a very harsh word. (And I have no doubt Josh knows exactly what that words means). To be miserable going to school. To feel as if he has no freedom in his own skin. To have no proverbial 'wriggle' room.

So, we're praying about this. We want the Lord to be glorified.

We want to be clear in what He wants us to do.