At 4 years old, Principal Dave Morgan was told by his mother that he was not to touch the cake she had just made and placed in the refrigerator. She was running next door to the neighbor’s house and wanted to be sure he understood that he was not to touch the cake.
As he heard the door close, his taste buds took control of the decision making part of his brain. Young David quickly found his way to the fridge and there, on the top shelf, was the beautiful chocolate cake covered with sprinkles. It was as if the cake were calling his name.
With one little 4-year old finger David took the tiniest of tastes of the chocolate icing. It tasted so good…..so good he had to have a little more. Soon, a tiny taste became a full finger swipe. The finger swipe gave way to a two finger swipe, and before he knew it, David stood in the kitchen with a giant clump of chocolate cake in his hand. His senses were overwhelmed with joy as hi lifted the frosting covered cake to his mouth.
Just then, he heard his mom coming. In a move that would make 007 proud, he spun the cake around to cover up the scene of the crime, then deftly threw the clump of cake in his hand under the couch. As the front door was opening, he had just one last move to make to what he was sure to be certain freedom, a quick wipe of his hand on his shorts and viola! The getaway was complete; or so his 4-year old mind thought.
His mom walked into the house and saw a little boy with cake crumbs and chocolate frosting smeared across his face, his little tee shirt, and his shorts. And so began the process of mom helping her little boy understand the importance of “making good decisions”.
At Buena Vista SDA School, we agree with Dr. Jim Fay when he says, “When we bail kids out of consequences, we rob them of opportunities to learn.” (loveandlogic.com). Little David had to “learn the consequences” for his decision just as students at BV have to deal with the consequences of their decisions. We actually see discipline as part of our curriculum; if we can take these momentary lapses in judgment into opportunities to build character, then BV will have been successful in helping our students grow to be productive members of society that are equipped to take the Gospel to the world as they learn to be “thinkers and not mere reflectors of other men’s thoughts”.
From the Mind of Morg 