Last class meeting, the students participated in a Literacy Month event at our college.  The local Head Start bused 30 preschool children to our college’s library where we had the joy of reading one-on-one with the children, joining them in snack, and sending them home with a book to call their own.

Today the class was talking about the joy we all had, and how several of the other adults involved in the organizing and in the area commented on how “well behaved” and “cute” the children were.  It provided us with great conversation about what were these adults, and other adults in our culture, thinking about how children behaved and just what was cute anyways.  I challenged students to consider exactly what cute meant to them, and was it okay to continually use that word to label children’s beings and behaviors.  Great discussion.  In the midst of  it, a student said that I needed to give them a little lee way as I was a very deep person.  So today I’m thinking about what that might mean.

The first day of class they were shy.  The first day of class they said, almost in unison, oh no, not me: I’m not going to sing, dance, and play an elephant in front of my peers!  What do you want us to do?  No way!  Is there any way to pass this class and not do the participation part?

Today, I had the moment to say to them : Guess what?  You just weren’t shy.  You just danced in front of each other.  You just sang a song about being a mole in a hole and sang it loud!  You even asked to play the game again because you wanted a turn to be the elephant!

Today was the transformation – so visible and palpable by me and the students.  These are community college students – some brand new to the experience – taking a class in bringing creative experiences to the young child.  It means singing, dancing, playing and mucking about.

What a great day!  Personally it was exactly what I needed today to balance off a tough week.  Today I’m thinking about transformation and feeling proud that indeed I know how to teach teachers of young children.

A quote from an email a colleague sent me today as a result of her visiting one of my classes during Open Classroom Week  (a week where faculty volunteer to open their classes to other faculty and staff to visit and also to visit other classrooms themselves).

“I was daydreaming in your class with how wonderful your students are and would be great educators by learning from people like you. I loved your sense of calm and your peaceful way of pointing out what has been done and what is to come in your class.”

Today I feel very proud.

Today was Advising Day at the community college where I work – a day to sit with your Advisor (for those students who choose to, of course), and talk about your goals, where your studies are going, how they are going, what you want to be when you “grow-up.”   I asked each student as they entered my office to pull up a chair and talk to me about how things were going.  A student who took a semester off stopped by with her two-week old infant to introduce him to me and proudly let me know that she’s registered for next semester – as is her husband.  (Bravo to them!)  I wish I could get each student to pull up a chair – these little half hour talks are so enlightening for me in terms of how to best support that student on their journey – whether as their Advisor or their teacher as well.

While sitting in a classroom with a few students during an Hour Open Session, the President of the College stopped in as he toured an important guest of his around — and he nicely informed the guest that if he wanted to know how Mr. Rogers related to life and learning, he should seek me out!

And so, today I’m thinking of an article written by Mr. Rogers support staff about pulling up a chair and the value and importance of that moment to forming a relationship that creates an environment for deep learning.

“When we sit, we’re also saying “I’m settling in here to be with you because I care about you, your thoughts, feelings and ideas.”  That’s what “Mister Rogers” did at the beginning of each program, when he put on his sweater and sneakers.  He let children see that he was putting aside other concerns and settling in for a “visit” with them (sort of like “pulling up a chair”).  ”

Today I’m thinking about the importance of relationship to learning.

Here’s the dictionary definition of “joy:”

A few thoughts and moments occurred today that I’m thinking must be related somehow.  In one of my Education courses, the students were exploring the printing with various objects (process vs product) in creative experiences.  The topic came up of whether food should be used in the early childhood classroom as an art supply, such as printing with cut in half potatoes.  My own personal and professional belief is that food is food.  I know that many artists use food; but my argument is that those artists are adults.  Children see us use food, their parents see us use food and it’s my belief that I am sending a message that food is unimportant.  Access to food is a class issue, an access to equity social justice issue for me.

The other moment was a story I heard on NPR about Child Services in any states removing Native Children from their homes.  I was driving and at one point I heard that 33 children were removed from a village of only 1400 people.  The journalist told the story of trumped up charges against a mother whose four children were then removed from her home.  In fact, the charges were so trumped up, they never even charged her with anything.  I was speechless while listening to this story.  I rarely find it hard to drive while I listen to the radio, but this story really shocked me.  Access and equity to fair laws, to raise our children the way we wish, and to be told the truth.   Social justice issue through and through.

This doesn’t speak well to how I could tie them together; but I know in my heart they are tied together.  With the Occupy/99% movement attempting to take haold; I worry that noone in America is paying attention to the real true facts that not only do only 1% have the wealth; but I’m beginning to think that only 1% have access to equity and fair treatment.  That is what I’m thinking about tonight.

Become a Big.  Do you want to make a difference in the world?  Yes, you could donate some money, bring some cans to the food bank, donate your old clothes, your old car, and put coins in the red bucket during the holidays.  These are good things; but I’m telling you being a Big Sister or Big Brother makes a donation that will last a lifetime – someone else’s.

Tonight I spent a few hours carving out pumpkins with my Little at the local chapter office of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. We talked about school on the drive there, and while we carved, we talked about Halloween, cats, pumpkin whoppie pies, pizza, cool friends, and the rock climbing opportunity her elementary school was giving her tomorrow.  We’ve been a match for two years: getting together twice a month for two years isn’t really a lot; just like the cans, or the old car or the coins aren’t a whole lot.

But I know that my Little is getting a glimpse at something different, at a possibility of other choices when she’s older, and at a different way to interact with life:  helping her learn to say please and thank you and eat with a napkin may be a small thing, but it lasts a lifetime.  Teaching and learning at its finest, at its sweetist, at its finest.  I wish every adult would find a Little: today I’m thinking about the power of mentoring.

This evening I had occasion to have dinner with three other very bright, and devoted women: women who have worked for years with young children and their families.  Discussion ranged from jobs and families to the state of politics, and about children.  This recent study was one of the topics we discussed: the harm  done to young children when they are exposed to excessive television.

My question this evening is this:  who will be the leaders thirty years from now when all of the children who have been raised surrounded by technology all are showing the effects of too much technology?  Or will it matter?  We know what’s best for children: there’s a plethora of research that shows us that the outdoors, being read to and playing with toys and pots and pans and friends are what make for healthy and happy adults.  But, apparently we’re willing, as a nation and individual families, to take a risk that too much technology won’t do much damage.  Especially when technology takes the place of play and the outdoors and social interactions with friends.  Today I’m thinking about taking the wrong kind of risk.

“It is important to ask and answer this question:  What do students need to know and be able to do “out there” as a result of their work in our classrooms.”     Ruth Stiehls   The Outcomes Primer

Exactly!  I ask myself this constantly.  At times this is the source of the reason I work for such long hours.  A standardized multiple choice test is about content, not about application.  In caring for young children, very rarely is there a multiple choice in the moment when a small person needs her/his needs met immediately.  Although the consequences for me are long hours, and exhaustion, as I create new scenarios, new applications in the classroom, new ways to write and think about the content, the payoff is quality care of young children.  This is what my students need to know and be able to do “out there:”  care for the leaders of tomorrow.  Today I’m thinking about one aspect of quality.

There were two lightbulb moments today: one for a student, and one for me.   An Introduction to Early Childhood Student had a really obvious lightbulb moment.  I ask students to have Reading Talks.  They have read an assignment, responded to it in writing and come prepared to discuss in a small group in class.   This student really did the light up moment — got very excited and shared that moment with the small group.  And wonderful, for me the teacher, she was willing to repeat it to the whole group.  Her moment involved really thinking for the first time about the reality of “teaching” versus “facilitating a child’s learning.”  It was a wonderful moment for her – and for me.

My lightbulb is a little harder to explain, having to do with how I redirect a student’s idea of interacting with a child.  It was the Creative Experiences in the Arts for Young Children class and in playing “Where is Thumbkin” together, a student expressed concern that children would know what holding up the middle finger would mean and we shouldn’t use the song because of that.  It would be too complicated to figure out how to write up the exchange in class around this issue completely.  It was a great discussion.  The lightbulb moment had to do with my watching myself try to support a student’s thinking but at the same time “correcting” that thinking. Really, one cannot give up singing or exposing children to everything just because we decide it has some message or is “inapproprite” – and in my opinion, mostly because the teacher finds it uncomfortable.  So it’s not easy to explain, but I know that I need to watch my responses to students in these moments and figure out if they are okay, too light, or too heavy handed.

Two light bulbs on a Thursday – a long dreary weather Thursday is a good thing.  Today I’m think about the light.