speeding ticket

Motivating your child to get good grades is a difficult task sometimes. Let’s face it, a child who struggles in school, doesn’t see getting a dollar for each “A” grade, as being an achievable prize. Of course, the goal has to be something the child can do, or they will give up before they start, so for a child who struggles, the dollar might be for a “C” or something. Maybe the goal needs to be broken down by weeks to help the struggling student, or even by assignment. When you have a student who struggles with school, you will pretty much do anything…including treats to get them to try harder to get good grades, because as we all know, a student who excels in school, can almost write their own ticket in life. College and jobs even come easier for them.

With all that being said, I suppose that I will sound like my parents, who like most parents of people my age, walked ten miles to school, uphill both ways, but when I was in school, we didn’t get rewarded for our grades. Maybe it just wasn’t done then, but for us, that was the way it was. So when I hear of paying a child for grades, I have mixed feelings about it. I’m not exactly opposed to paying for grades, because it is the child’s job, after all, and I expect to be paid for my work. Still, by the same token, I would have to wonder if it shouldn’t also be that a poor grade costs the child then. I mean, if I am a great driver, and I get a speeding ticket, I have to pay the penalty too, even if I haven’t had one in ten years. And shouldn’t a child just naturally want to learn things. No, not really. When I was in grade school, history was the most boring subject in existence, and yet today, I research events in history for my stories. I guess that if it is something you really love, you don’t need any motivation, but if it isn’t something you really love, no matter how big the amount of motivation you are offered, it will not make you love that subject.

Still, some people take things a little be too far, in my opinion. Such was the case in a story I read the other day. It went like this: “My elder brother has a son. He has just started school. My brother buys him toys, different devices, and new clothes to motivate him. When I was in my first year in school, he promised me that if I finished school with excellent grades, I would be able to have a tooth made of gold. I was really enthusiastic for many years.” Now, I don’t know about you, but a gold tooth would not really motivate me to get better grades. Still, to each his own. I suppose that to a young boy, a gold tooth might sound like the coolest thing ever…at least for a time. As you read in the story, even that great motivator didn’t do the trick forever.

Like most things, as kids get older, that dollar isn’t quite the motivator it used to be either. Kids, these days, know how little a dollar can buy, and when you think about it, it’s really hard for a kid to stay motivated for nine weeks…just to make a dollar. I guess that if parents are going to use a reward system motivator, they are going to have to keep up with the times, and upgrade that motivator periodically so it will be the study aid they are hoping for. Or maybe my parents had the right idea after all, which was pretty much, get good grades…or else!! And I think I’ll leave that right there.

ChrisIn a time when our police officers are being randomly attacked, I think it is important to remember just who it is that comes running in to protect those in need of assistance. Police officers have such a complicated job. Part of the people they come in contact with are in need of their assistance, and when they are, they are grateful for the help. The other part of the people are the criminal side, and they are the ones, of course, who hate the cops. And unfortunately, sometimes the lines get very blurred. There are people in need of help, but they don’t want that help, and those who the cops are arresting or giving a ticket to, who then steps in the assist the very police officer who was arresting them. Those situations are really quite surprising…amazingly so.

Nevertheless, I can see how being a police officer would be a difficult occupation. When the good guys can turn into the bad guys, and the bad guys can turn into the good guys, it creates a situation whereby an officer just doesn’t know what to expect going into any situation. Still, they go into those situations, knowing the possible perils, but knowing too that the work they do is important.

Many people don’t really give much thought to the life of a police officer, but when you have two of them in your very close family, you just naturally feel differently about them. You know their hearts and you know their level of integrity. They aren’t just a random police officer, but rather, they are family, and you love them. That is the situation in my family. We have two police officers in our midst. Leutenant Chris Hadlock, of the Casper Police Department, and State Trooper Jason Sawdon of the Wyoming Highway imagePatrol, are both exceptional officers. I’m sure that is why my family and I take personal offense when someone decides that police officers are not important. There are many times when any of us could be in a really bad place, were it not for a police officer. So the next time you are stopped for speeding, and you are tempted to be angry about it, remember…you were speeding, and they officer is just doing his or her job. Any time we break the law, we are a risk for others…people, just like us, who that officer has sworn an oath to protect. Swallow that anger, and take your medicine. You deserve it. Today is a day to honor our police officers. Thank you Chris and Jason, and the officers in the Casper area and the nation. We appreciate your service. Police lives matter. Thank a police officer today.

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