Michael
Submitted by Mark on May 31 1999 at 21:36:45
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A few months ago my neighbor told me that a good friend of hers has been emotionally and verbally abused by her husband over a long time. The abuse has also been directed at their son Michael, who is one of my 7th grade students. At one point, the abuse was so bad that the mother took the children out of the house and stayed in a shelter for about a month. Michael suffers from low self-esteem, and had been receiving counseling, but that has stopped. I have tried to encourage him at school. He is bright and very motivated, and I got him to join the math league team. I also have told him how much I appreciate him in class and what a wonderful young person he is. I just found out, to my disappointment, that he will not be returning to our school next year, but will be attending public school. I do not feel I have had much chance yet to do as much as I wanted to encourage him. However, I was gratified when his mother sent me a letter which said: "Thank you for all the encouragement you've given Mike. He enjoyed your class and will miss you very much. You've made an impact on him as a man, a teacher, and a friend." That was very encouraging to me, but I am concerned about him and wish I could continue to help him. I do know that accepting myself as a BLer, and realizing the positive potentials of BL, has motivated me to do more than I would have otherwise done to try to help boys such as Michael. I am thankful for the many good examples of BLers I have met here on CBF and at other BL websites. Let us continue to be examples to each other, and to inspire each other to minister to boys who are in need of love. Mark |