We journalist have to remain neutral  on stories we write about, to maintain separation between news and editorial comment.

So, I can’t say what I think about how Governor Brownback’s office responded to a  tweet about him from a  Shawnee Mission East High School student. But I do think a few lessons were learned by all involved.

Can you say teachable moment?

We’ve had a few of those in the Williams household over the years. Those are the moments when the kids do or say something that gets them in trouble somehow. Mom and Dad have to decide whether to go off on the kid or sit them down and use the moment to teach a lesson. I think kids really learn best this way, because they have something to relate the adult comments to. They remember this stuff.

I remember the time Jordan insisted on running around on a wood deck with no shoes on. I kept telling him to cover his feet. He ignored me until he got a mega splinter in the bottom of his foot — teachable moment for sure.

Then there was the time he was horsing around with a friend until the two ended up in an argument. The two shoved one another and Jordan pushed back extra hard. His friend (best friend actually) fell, skinning his knees and bumping his head. Jordan, 6 at the time,  ended up in the principal’s office and had to write an apology to his friend.

I was a bit upset that the friend (just because he was a bit more weaked kneed than Jordan) got off scott free, but I didn’t tell Jordan that.  I didn’t spend hours scolding Jordan either. He felt horrible and knew what he’d done was wrong. We did talk, though, about never putting your hands on someone.

I explained that if his buddy had been seriously injured then it would have been him who was responsible even if he weren’t the one who started the shoving.  Better you should walk away then end up hurting someone you really care about, and messing things up for yourself too.

Then there was the time I tried to explain to Trey that it was not a good idea to over extend himself with a string of advance placement courses his senior year. I tried to tell him that senior year he’d want to get involved in a bunch of activities and his ability to do well in those really tough classes  will be compromised.

He didn’t listen. First semester his grades were in the toilet. He turned to me and said you were right mom. I could have jumped all over him for messing up his transcript and being hard headed but, instead I talked to him about knowing his limits and pushing the envelop a little at a time to move ahead. And I told him there is no shame it backing up if you realize you may be in over your head. It takes a big man to say I made a mistake and to regroup.  Another teachable moment.

Even this Kansas Gov. Brownback tweeting incident has been a teachable moment for me and my boys.

I used it to talk to them about being careful about what you put into social media. It doesn’t matter whether I agree or disagree with how Brownback’s people handled that situation. Or whether I believe they may have missed a great teachable moment. I do think it might have been cool (do folks still say cool) if the governor had actually called for a meeting with Emma Sullivan, the high school student, and the two had talked about the tweet and maybe even about what she likes or dislikes about his policies.

I figured I’d just use the incident as a teachable moment for my boys.  

These teachable moments don’t come around very often  and when they do I think we should make the very best of them.