Fallin' Off the Wagon

Well, it's quite obvious that blogging isn't in my blood--at least as long as I am the mother of four boys, wife of one husband, and substitute teacher to many students! It's been a while since I've "blogged" but the ideas keep flowing...

I took a six week foray into the world of daycare/preschool and I can truly say it was an enlightening experience. As a firm believer in the importance of parents as primary caregivers I made every sacrifice necessary to stay home with my children when they were young. Not every family is as blessed as mine had been--not everyone can stay home for five years. I am so glad to know that there is an army of dedicated, compassionate caregivers undergirding the very fabric of our society. A bit much you say? Not really.

At six weeks of age an infant is transerred from a mother's arms to those of the teacher in the baby room. It's love at first sight--for the teacher! I subbed in the baby room two days and I was hooked! Toddlers and two year olds, 3K to pre-K, these little ones need the nurturing care of committed teachers to wipe noses and kiss bumps and teach the ABC's and, most of all, love them. Add to that the constant cleaning and sanitizing, and at the end of the day you have some very tired people!

Daycare has a bad "rep", and I know that in many cases it's well deserved. Yet my experience showed me the other side, the one that all mothers hope for--love, compassion, and good old soap and water!

Looking for Love

We are all looking for something--fame, fortune, significance, a great cup of coffee...but we are really just looking for love. Last year I taught at an inner city school with all the accompanying challenges (enough said) but these children are no different than the children in rural south GA. Honestly, they're not. They just manifest the depth of their needs in a different way. Is it appropriate. No usually. Is it more intense? Absolutely. But the bottom line is these five and six year olds are seeking the same love and acceptance that the children in Georgia, Alaska, or California are seeking.

Teachers, we have the power to extend that love. Our faces can show joy or disapproval embracing acceptance or rejecting disdain. It IS our job to love our students. If they don't feel it, how can they be free to try? More importantly, how can they be free to fail? So much is expected and society forgets that these are babies. Really.

To those of you that impact the lives of children who have secure homes and loving families, you also have tremendous power to extend love.

And what about us, the "trained professionals"? Yes, I believe we are also looking for love, acceptance, and significance. We cultivate a culture of love in our classrooms that, through time, is reciprocated by our students. We crave the acceptance of our peers and that truly collaborative relationship that extends beyond the school day. And finally, didn't we go into teaching to find significance--to make a difference in the lives of others?

I have had the privilege and blessing of finding theses things at an inner city school. I have made friends for a lifetime, with bonds forged in the fiery furnace of shared trials. I have helped students to achieve more than they (and their parents) dreamed possible. I have also found love in pint-sized packages.

One little girl who had experienced more trauma in her five years than most have in a lifetime put this in perspective for me. After weeks a withdrawal, skirting the classroom, refusing to join the group, she came up to me, took my face in her hands, and stared at me with huge eyes in a pinched face. Finally she said, "Mrs. Fallin, you eyes is blue." "Yes, Baby, my eyes are blue," I said. "Mrs. Fallin, you eyes say love."

Ah, yes, we're all looking for love.