Tuesday, my volunteer day atLacoochee, we made pancakes. Last week the FCAT story was a dreary thing about measurement, so I thought that we'd measure out ingredients to make pancakes. At the least we could wrest some life into this presentation. So I dragged in all my bags and boxes containing flour, eggs, oil, and all the rest. I set up my big griddle, put out the maple syrup and butter and blueberries. I wrote out the recipe on the board and miraculously all the kids could read it. (Maybe because it's the real stuff?)
Every kid had a chance to crack eggs, pour and flip the pancakes and annoint them with their favorite toppings. They were wary of the maple syrup which I told them came from actual trees in Vermont. Not one child knew where flour came from. (the store?) But these patient and good children were game. They'd try anything for 'Miss Molly'. Other teachers in the "pod" came by to inquire about the heavenly smell emanating from our area, and then they stayed around for a few minutes to look at the bright finished clay works the kids had made last week. I made sure that every teacher within sniffing distance was given a plate of pancakes.
It was cold this morning. It said 37 degrees on my car thermometer as I went out the driveway. The kids all were wearing puffy jackets which they threw under the tables. Dynasty, the fifth grade helper, my friend who is always there on Tuesdays, helped me with my satchels. She was really eager to see her own clay creations and dearly wanted to be a part of the pancake making but she had to be back in her class.
After a lunch of the caloric stale stuff they serve, there was another public diminishment from a teacher of a child in line. I couldn't stand to hear it and walked briskly ahead, truly troubled at how children are disrespected in the public school milieu. Suddenly, I realized that the teacher of my group, CareyAnne, was running with the kids to catch up to me. Nothing was said, but we all reached the classroom with a sigh of relief. Yes, the kids were reacting to the cold sharp air, jittery and full of beans. And, yes, everyone feels that way!
I read them a story I had written, but not finished. It was a simple and true story about wild Florida animals. I wanted them to see that actual people can write stories. I enlisted their help on how to finish the story. Many of them offered good ideas which we wrote down on a large sheet of paper. No one fidgeted, they were all engaged in the process. I will take one or two of their ideas and write them up. They talked about the possibility that they could write a book and they marvelled at the typewritten pages I read to them. (We could do this?!) Somehow I think they will finish this story, illustrate it, publish it, and be proud of the collaboration. To be an effective teacher one has to believe that every child is gifted and talented. And you have to keep promises!
All my volunteer months at this school I have wanted to have kids go out on a daily walk. Today, for the first time this year, we did it! I will always remember CareyAnne, getting into the spirit of it. After a walk through the woods looking for gopher tunnels and sticking our fingers into them, we emerge back into the school playing fields. She is the leader of the line. I am hand-in-hand with kids in the back and needing fifteen hands. Suddenly CareyAnne becomes a different person, maybe not a teacherperson, maybe just playful. She doesn't have to say anything to the kids and they just follow her: she struts, she holds out her arms, she follows the lines and circles on the basketball courts, she skips in wild abandon, she makes circles. The kids all follow her, thrilled to be active and alive outdoors. Finally, as we approach the school, she becomes military, silently marching up the walkway to the classroom. The kids fall in behind her and I can tell she is confident they are all there. She never looked back because she knows she has them. (And they have her!) Many of the kids whisper to me how fun this is.
I am fomenting trouble, I know! I am trying to make the keepers of these good and patient children have fun and realize that these kids, each and every one of them, are gifted and talented, worthy of their highest respect, and just plain fun to know.
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