Since this Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in our country, I’ve been actively looking for ways in which citizens’ character in action provides cause for thanksgiving. I’ve been hunting character-in-action to show that society has not yet spun totally into decadence.
One story that surfaced this past weekend is cause for both thanksgiving and praise. It is the story of a mother in Edmond, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. This mother exercised her courage of convictions, and we applaud her for that!
Tasha Henderson stood up for what she believed, took action, and willingly sacrificed her own self-image for the future good of her 14-year old daughter. Coretha, one of three children, has turned into a rebellious teenager. She is a first year student in one of the state’s academically top high schools, and she could be getting good grades, but was settling for only C’s and D’s. Her parents tried various ways to help Coretha. They used the traditional, mild punishments. They progressed to more serious punishments. They made her give up basketball and track, which she loved. Still, Coretha refused to do homework. She refused to stop sassing her teachers. She refused to get to class on time.
So her mother decided on a very creative action. Mrs. Henderson made a sign for her daughter – a highly visible sign. On a standard, 3 foot high, triple-panel display board such as students use in science fairs, Mrs. Henderson wrote a message in large, black letters. The message? “I don’t do my homework, and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future.” At the bottom of this large sign, Mrs. Henderson added the clincher: “Will work for food.”
With the sign finished, Mrs. Henderson took her daughter, Coretha, to a busy intersection in Oklahoma City. There, the mother stood beside the girl as Coretha held the sign for passing motorists and pedestrians to read. Mrs. Henderson identified with her rebellious daughter. She stood by her side to take the humiliation. She also suffered criticism from people with less character. She did all of this because she truly cares about her child, and cares about the future that waits for a student who refuses the opportunities being offered. “This may not work. I’m not a professional,” said Henderson, a 34-year-old mother, “but I felt I owed it to my child to at least try.”
So she tried, and so far, in the past week and a half, she has seen results. Coretha has changed her behavior. She is doing her homework, is on time for classes, and is speaking much more respectfully to her teachers. We applaud Tasha Henderson for exercising her courage of convictions.
Her actions contrast heavily with a group of Florida parents who are blaming schools because their children are not achieving, and blaming schools because their children are acting up in class. Perhaps those schools should invite Tasha Henderson to speak to an assembly of those parents. We think she has much to teach them.
On Thanksgiving Day, we need to pause and be thankful for the courage of convictions that fights corruption in our society.
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?