Professor Sharon

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I don’t mean what you understand

May 15th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized

Heard on the playground today from a three and half year old child who just wasn’t convinced that school was happening at the playground.  The last day of school was being celebrated at a local park with family invited, snacks, a story teller, lots of running and rolling down slides, and lunch.  But this little fellow just wasn’t convinced:  “When is school today?”  “Here.”  “No, I don’t mean what you understand.”

I spent a couple of hours a week volunteering this school year at a local Head Start classroom (missing more hours than I wanted to due to meetings).  I had a few reasons for the added commitment to my work week, although it never did get me out of those meetings!   Most of all, one day I realized that my campus certainly wasn’t requiring the resident English professors to teach without ever reading a book!  Why on earth was I teaching pre-service teachers, students wondering if teaching was their choice, students interested in working with young children somehow:  why was I teaching them without ever spending time with young children?  (Unfortunately my grandbaby doesn’t count — time with her is a treasure; but as yet it hasn’t been quite the same as being in the room with 17 children – although her mother might say give her time!).

And, so I spent a fascinating few hours a week: getting to hold hands and talk about worries, getting to sing songs with someone jostling in my lap, getting to sit patiently while a brain and a hand tried to manipulate a puzzle in the right direction, hearing what’s new on television and what’s stupid, and remembering what skills I have to work with young children.  And, what skills I don’t have any longer and needed to work on.

Most of all, it reminded me that I don’t always mean what I understand.

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2 Comments so far ↓

  • ProfSharon

    You are incredibly welcome (your goodbye was fine by me – you had many little people to keep track of!) Please keep in touch and I hope we get to work together in the classroom again!

  • Suzanne

    I did not get to properly say goodbye to you today, and I most definitely did not get to give you adequate thanks for all of your work with our classroom this year. Thank you!

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