“Mrs. White, is it time to go home?”
“No, Charley, this is first grade. We stay here the entire day.”
“No, Charley, this is first grade. We stay here the entire day.”
“Who signed me up for this?”
I vividly recall my first day in first grade at Bragaw Avenue Elementary School. We were assigned our own little desk/chairs. Being small, all I could see was the back of the girl’s head who sat directly in front of me. The teacher made the mistake of handing out supplies, including dull, little-kid scissors. But, not too dull for me to quickly experiment by cutting off one of the little girl’s braids. Just as quickly, I found myself sitting alone, facing the wall, with my shoes removed. I suppose the shoe idea was to make sure I did not run away.
How different I found my first day helping with a project at the Northern Virginia Ethical Society Sunday school. The children’s excitement was only tempered when we asked them to watch a demonstration about how to construct bird feeders by shmearing peanut butter onto card board tubes that would then be rolled in bird seed and given a yarn string for hanging. Of course, paper bags that would hold their creations needed decorating. No yelling, no haircutting, no biting, and no arguing. The fifteen or so children ranging in age from two to ten years old actually asked to share material. The older children helped the younger kids with the tricky string part of the construction. I don’t know if the birds and squirrels enjoyed their treats, but I totally enjoyed helping. The excitement was palpable. So different from regular school where I eventually learned that school was intended to subdue children into obedience
I am so glad that our children have a chance to see that life has glimmers of fun that includes learning, working cooperatively, and building self esteem.
How different I found my first day helping with a project at the Northern Virginia Ethical Society Sunday school. The children’s excitement was only tempered when we asked them to watch a demonstration about how to construct bird feeders by shmearing peanut butter onto card board tubes that would then be rolled in bird seed and given a yarn string for hanging. Of course, paper bags that would hold their creations needed decorating. No yelling, no haircutting, no biting, and no arguing. The fifteen or so children ranging in age from two to ten years old actually asked to share material. The older children helped the younger kids with the tricky string part of the construction. I don’t know if the birds and squirrels enjoyed their treats, but I totally enjoyed helping. The excitement was palpable. So different from regular school where I eventually learned that school was intended to subdue children into obedience
I am so glad that our children have a chance to see that life has glimmers of fun that includes learning, working cooperatively, and building self esteem.
No comments:
Post a Comment