CAROL'S CORNER
Poems by Carol Smith
Published 11/15/78
"The Broadcaster"
Written for our sweet sister Laurel, 28 years ago today :)
A Pat On The Back
Laurel's in the first grade learning to read...
To help her at home has become a need...
In order to learn each word just right...
We go over them all every night...
The teacher said to praise her...
It would help her do much better...
So I gave her a pat upon her back...
For each correct word and letter...
She accepted this with such delight..
And looked forward to reading every night...
With eyes sparkling with laughter..
She learned more than ever before...
She said "I must be smart now Mom...
Because my back is getting sore..."
So the pats on the back will be fewer now...
For she looks at them as a joke somehow...
And it's more important that she learn...
That praise is something hard to earn...
But when it comes and it's sincere...
It becomes beautiful music to our ear...
And oh how dull and bleak our days...
Without an occasional word of praise...
Praise is an extra bonus in giving...
And makes life so much more worth living...
And I hope sometime in the years ahead...
The thought might pop into her head...
That a pat on the back helped her to learn...
And that she also will take a turn...
To make brighter and lighter someone's days...
By occasionally remembering to offer praise...
