A program that started 15 years ago by Dr. Anthony Witham bared its fruits last week as the Tyrone School District celebrated Family Pride Night at the High School auditorium.
\nWitham, the founder of the American Family Institute is dedicated to bringing recognition and renewal to parents and teachers who are making a difference in the lives of children and students. Witham honored many parents with poems written by their children.
\n\u201cOur mission is to remind the parents that the greatest gift to a child is the gift of time,\u201d said Witham. \u201cMany parents are living in a hurried lifestyle, working to make ends meet. Many parents love their children dearly, but fall into the trap of life. They get so busy that they fail to spend a little leisure time with them like playing a board game together.\u201d
\nThe American Family Institute works with more than 50 school districts across Pennsylvania.
\n\u201cThis program brings wonderful results,\u201d said Witham. \u201cI get many letters from parents saying what a difference this program has made in their lives. Many parents probably don\u2019t believe that they are doing a good job raising their children. This one night where they are recognized for the time they spend with their kids does wonders for many parents.\u201d
\nTyrone superintendent Dr. William Miller was happy with the turnout for the recognition ceremony.
\n\u201cThe parent response to this program was overwhelming,\u201d said Miller. \u201cWe believe that the parents are the most effective teacher in the life of a child. It is great to see the pride on the face of a parent when the poem is read about how their child feels about them. This program, \u201cThe Gift of Time\u201d, helps bring a better connection between the child, the parent and the school.\u201d
\nWitham enjoys seeing the results of the program.
\n\u201cIt is an incredible feeling standing beside these wonderful children as I read their poems that they write about their parents,\u201d said Witham. \u201cIt is a privilege for me to be a liaison between the child and the parent. These poems remind the parent that they are a much better parent than they thought. Raising a child is about sacrifices. The giving never ends. This allows parents to stop for a moment and see how great they are. The kids give their parents an award, and it has helped many parents through down times.\u201d
\nWitham has authored many books on parenting and teaching but believes that programs like this are better than any book that is written.
\n\u201cParents need to quit reading all the \u2018how to parent\u2019 books, including mine,\u201d said Witham. \u201cTheir children say more in these poems than any parenting book will ever say.\u201d
\nWitham\u2019s Gift of Time program has been honored by the White House and Governor Schweiker\u2019s office.
\n\u201cGov. Schweiker was always asking for a copy of the calendar that we produce,\u201d said Witham. \u201cI always try to recite this piece of information. You never spoil children by giving them too much love. You spoil them by giving things in place of us. Nobody can order you to be a good parent. I believe that every parent wants to be a loving parent. Many get trapped in the hurried world and miss the point that the greatest gift you can give to a child is time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A program that started 15 years ago by Dr. Anthony Witham bared its fruits last week as the Tyrone School District celebrated Family Pride Night at the High School auditorium. Witham, the founder of the American Family Institute is dedicated to bringing recognition and renewal to parents and teachers who are making a difference in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46838\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}