Learning from children…MLK…acceptance…
In honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday, I want to share a story…an experience I had many years ago that l think about every year at this time.
I was teaching Junior Kindergarten, a classroom of 24 four year olds. The class consisted of one black child, one of mixed race, several of Vietnamese and Chinese heritage and the rest white. The program allowed for long periods of play (which is children’s work) and choice.
Deryk (the only black child) and Amy were sitting across from each other at the craft/writing table. Amy was busy “writing” on a piece of paper. Deryk was cutting a piece of paper into a pile of strips. Amy looked up at Deryk and studied him for a few minutes. Then out of her mouth popped “Look at your eyes!”
I stifled my laughter as Deryk’s eyes did all kinds of funny things as he tried to see them!
“Whaaat?” he asked curiously. “I can’t see them.”
“They’re brown,” Amy stated emphatically. “You are brown like a potato all over.”
“Yeah,” said Deryk, getting back to his cutting.
“So what color are my eyes?” asked Amy.
Deryk looked closely at her. A big grin crossed his face. “Hey they’re brown too!”
Several minute of giggling followed. Then Amy grabbed her paper and pencil and got up. “Let’s go see if the other kids have brown eyes.” And off they went, carefully looking into the eyes of their classmates.
I was distracted for a few minutes with a minor emergency in the room. (Too many children, too few adults in the classroom…but that is a whole other issue which I will save for another day!) When I returned to Amy and Deryk they were in the building center with several other children. Amy’s paper and pencil were on the floor forgotten. “Amy,” I said, showing her the paper with little squiggly marks on it. “How did it go?”
“Lots-a brown eyes Mrs. Z,” she reported as she kept on building.
I held up the paper again. “Do you want to finish this or put it in your cubby?”
“Nah,” she answered. “It’s not important anymore. Me and Deryk are busy.”
I was amazed and continue to be amazed at the understanding of children. There is so much for us to learn from them. In that classroom there was a natural acceptance of everyone and everything.
Except from two mothers! One asked that I not allow her son to play in the house anymore and especially not wearing the apron. (“After all, we don’t want him to turn out to be that sort of boy, do we?”) The other mother asked that I keep her daughter away from the sandbox. (“It really dirties her dresses. Besides, it’s not the type of training that a little girl needs anyway.”) You can imagine what I had to say about that…although I was very diplomatic in those days! Just had to add this last paragraph in honor of Betty White’s birthday.
Sure is lots to celebrate this week!