I have been teaching young children my whole life, a little over 4 decades to be exact. I know I am fortunate to have a career that I love. The developmental characteristics of preschool and kindergarten children has always inspired and surprised me. It is a shame that some of these most inherent traits are lost, or "taught" out of them. We as a society want schools to prepare children to be life-long learners and contributing citizens, right? Or are our schools used to create students that understand conforming to the confines of "the box" will make their lives much easier? Do we use schools to further the inaccurate and imbalanced US and World history reported in textbooks? Early education originated to further a particular agenda, "from 1894-1915, the goals of Progressive reformers influenced education in the United States since education was seen as a way to teach children the proper values needed to be a productive American citizen...Public education was also seen as a way to Americanize the vast number of immigrant children flooding into the cities."
Sadly, not much seems to have changed. Why did I just find out about Black Wall Street this year? The fact that our government actually flew planes over Tulsa and dropped bombs on the city is shocking to me. I am 60 years old. As a career educator and a life long self proclaimed activist, I am deeply embarrassed at how much of our real American history I don't know. Now, of course, there is no going back. On May 25, George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer who was sworn to "protect and serve". This murder condoned by his fellow officers inaction, witnessed by throngs of iPhones sharing live footage, made this murder, unlike all the other murders. Finally a murder we could not ignore. We can thank all the brave citizens who took to the streets to make sure we would not ignore this murder. All of this happening during a world wide pandemic being completely mismanaged by the Trump administration...and now I am supposed to teach the alphabet? Teach them to stand up and sit down when it is required, preparing them for the "time clock". School needs to be more than just a test prep center. It needs to be more than a vehicle for propaganda or the washer/dryer of independent thought.
I know I am not alone. Many educators, and unions are trying to transform the way we empower our students. It is not with standardized tests, but with opportunities to develop problem solving strategies. We want our students to be media savvy and learn to shift through all the noise to find the truth. Our young students are up against a country where 2 sets of opposing "facts" are reported. They are witnessing unrest, even our youngest students see this. Dismissing their natural intelligence, curiosity, empathy, and deep devotion to fairness as a developmental stage is not only insulting, but unacceptable. It is not "cute" to see our middle school and high school students leading protests. They are, thankfully, effecting change. They are not only the future, they are OUR future.
As educators, our revised job description includes teaching the truth in a developmental appropriate way without omitting facts, listening to our students' natural passion for justice and equity, and creating learning environments that allow times for their curiosity to flourish. We must understand that the relationship between teacher and student only works if we are open to the lessons our students give to us.
Yesterday I wrote 3 poems about my current school experience under the constraints of COVID-19. I am forever inspired by the resilience of children and the lessons we can learn from them. Be well, enjoy, seize the day, cherish the moments, eat some candy and play with your friends!
American Heroes
By Kerry Zagarella
All the students line up
Big new school
Proud and scared
Masked allies
Arms outstretched
Measuring for safety
The new friendship distance
Giggling and waving at arm's length
They decorate their clear vinyl shields
With pipe cleaners and pompoms
Transparent liner
Not a barrier
Just their job
A pandemic
Invisible
Yet they believe without doubt
There is no conspiracy
No politics
Just us
Taking care of each other
They wonder if Santa’s mask will be white
Will it be furry like his beard?
“Did you wonder what I looked like under my mask, before you saw me?”
The earnest citizen asks
His question, an answer
These are our American Heroes
Like the greatest generation before them
Their long forgotten ways
These children act on the greater good
They chant, “Mask break”
When they are outside and safely apart
This is the B side of Covid
The hidden gem
A sparkling geode
in our darkest times
effortlessly manifested
by the youngest, as it always has been
They sing the alphabet twice while washing their hands
They care for each other, it is their way of life
Our new citizens
And now, we must become their students
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The children see you
By Kerry Zagarella
They will know your eyes
See the sparkling dew
of an instant
A beloved memory unfolding
They will see your sorrow
The ancient pool revealed
Salty reserve
cascading down
waterfall cheeks
Our masked children
building a new intelligence
They will use their eyes and ears
More than their mouths
They will see
Listen and hear
Not dependent on
pearly whites
Deliberate smiles
Calculated frowns
They will only see you
And that will be enough
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This land was made for you and me
By Kerry Zagarella
I lead the class in song
repeating the folk words of Woody Guthrie,
His black and white portrait stapled to the shores of the Pacific ocean below Alaska
watching California
All points marked on the large USA map
that covers the classroom wall
The Redwood forest
The New York Island
Lady Liberty’s invitation
“Give me your huddled masses”
Her torch lighting the way for our better selves
Teaching all the verses
“In the shadow of the steeple, I saw my people
By the relief office I seen my people
As they stood there hungry
I stood there asking, Is this land made for you and me?
Year after year I repeat this lesson
To wide eyed youngins, clapping along
Some sharing hand gestures learned in preschool
Rippling arm gestures riding the waves of the gulf stream waters
I read The New Colossus in a kid friendly way
Using all my theatre background,
Even I want to know the answer to the question
The young Jamaican girl asks, “where is this country?”
When I tell her it is here, that we are living in it
She knows
She adds me to the list of the ignorant
The white liars
And that was 5 years ago
This year my lesson is interrupted by a single hand
A young girl tells me
Our country needs help
Black people are getting killed
The boy next to her reminds her about Black Lives Matter
And the all kids agree
This land must be made for you and me!
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