Prayer Works!

Yesterday we met with the Special Education counselor at the kids school. He had called asking us to come in to talk about Marquel and the results of her testing. He was so excited to give us his news.

The middle of last year, Marquel was really struggling in her school work, particularly in math, which she was failing. After talking to her teacher and the principal we decided to sign her up for special ed testing in the hopes that if there was a learning disability she would be able to get the right kind of help. She had worked very hard and I did not want her to get discouraged and give up trying to learn.

We continued studying with her every weekend in the hopes that she would be able to pass the achievement tests. You may recall, or you can go back and read the older blog posts as we worked and prayed that Marquel would be able to remember what we studied.

Yesterday the counselor explained that from the time we began the paperwork for the special ed testing until the time the testing was actually done the first part of June (it takes a long time to get that ball rolling!!), Marquel had not only passed her achievement tests, she was able to pass the special ed testing with flying colors. The test results showed average to higher than average intelligence and abilities.

While we thought Marquel would always have to struggle, he explained that starting now, she will need to be always challenged or she would become bored and get into trouble. He said that if she pursues her current desire to be a teacher, it would probably prove to be a difficult job for her, that she might instead think about being a lawyer! She has the potential, a desire to learn, and we have seen a new twinkle in her eyes. He even went to far as to say that she had traits that they look for in Gifted and Talented students, with the potential to be anything she wants to be. He gave us some good suggestions to help Marquel keep focused in the right direction.

There are a few things we need to work on, seemingly simple things like telling time and counting money. The counselor confirmed what we already knew, that in the Projects there is not much need to know how to count money, and the passing of time has little meaning.

Her math scores were the lowest on the testing, so last night I told Marquel I would print off the study guide for 5th grade achievement (TAKS) tests and work really hard so she could get a good grade in Math this year. "Oh, can we do it right now?" she wanted to know.

After a long day of school meeting, counselors, and running errands with them, I said "Let's start tomorrow!"

I have always felt that Marquel has an innate desire to live a better life than her mom. Now she has shown us how hard she is willing to work to achieve it. Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. Once again, I think God is reminding us that he has great plans for Marquel.


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