Reflections

Children smile when they are happy and cry when they are sad. With easily excitable and non-prevaricating hearts, children enter the doors of elementary schools around the world; stepping into the secure walls of institutions that are solely dedicated to the education and development of each and every child.

Schools: I believe children come to school to learn to think: about themselves, the world around them, and themselves in context of the world. Children are innately curious beings who come to school to discover and foster metacognitive thought, which, in turn, equips them to be functioning citizens with a strong sense of self and the community in which they live. Elementary schools provide a unique environment because they allow students more freedom to establish and express their intellect. While this ability to think can be quantified by success in standardized exams and assessments, the beauty of elementary schools lies in its ability to catch intellect in a boy who hums a jukebox of oldies while working on his long division problems, or in a girl from Mexico who takes 4 years to pick up English as a third language and tests at grade level. Throughout each grade, children learn to think of who they are, what they are, and become equipped with why-they-are skills that will teach them how to serve as functioning citizens of a broader society.

Classrooms: In the classroom, children learn a variety of subjects that challenge and restructure their constructs of knowledge. Portraits of the world are broken into puzzle pieces and presented to children to rebuild. The methods and techniques by which these parts are pieced together are crucial for the child, as it scaffolds their thinking and molds their understanding of self. The classroom environment where puzzle-piecing or learning takes place thus plays a significant role in the learning process. Hence, I believe in classrooms enriched with routines and systems that nurture a familiar, safe environment of risk-taking; I believe in classrooms with roles and independence that empower responsibility and metacognition; I believe in classrooms built on community and sensitivity that cultivate acceptance and celebration of differences; and I believe in classrooms defined with expectation and challenge that show students the potential they can and will achieve.

Teacher: Revelation and understanding lead to a smile. Frustration leads to a frown. I believe it is the teacher’s role to foster smiling environments that are developmentally appropriate and uniquely differentiated to students of all backgrounds. With lessons that accommodate to individualized strengths and weaknesses, thinking is stimulated in each child, who is then better able to clutch all the puzzle pieces, squeeze and re-squeeze, until finally, the picture is complete. Any teacher understands the satisfaction and fulfillment of light-bulb moments when students grasp the ‘big idea’ of a lesson. Revelation: a new perspective or understanding that affirms a child’s curiosity and self-esteem, and positively reinforces the child to persist in their quest for knowledge.

Justice: Every child deserves an education where they are holistically embraced and persistently shown love, grace and opportunity. Children deserve instruction that is delivered with developmental sensitivity in an anti-racial, multicultural and differentiated environment. Then, not only will each child have the opportunity to shine with fulfilled potential, but they will also develop an increased awareness, perspective and sensitivity to the diverse and multicultural world around them. Entering school, children (re)construct and challenge ideology and reason to better understand how and why things work. Leaving school, children establish a portion of their identity and discern how it plays out in their classrooms, worlds, and future lives.