I've decided to re-post an entry that I wrote in my (now defunct) blog Pre-K Ponderings. It echoes the sentiments I have now as I prepare for my fourth year of teaching.
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Whenever a new school year rolls around, I start to feel antsy. I
look for a new hobby, like crocheting. I consider signing up for
volunteer projects. I plan to see the dentist for the first time in 9?
12? 18? months.
And then it really hits me. After my students arrive, I realize what I
need to do. I have an urge to record what they say, those miraculous
little statements that vanish from memory too quickly. I invariably find
myself thinking, “I should be writing about this.”
Those of you who know me probably remember my previous attempts at
documenting my teaching experience. There was “Day in the Life of a
5-Year-Old” and “Now We Are Six.” While I considered an ill-fated career
in business, there was the equally doomed “Venture Girl in a Boy’s
World.” During my teenage years I also kept a blog, though I no longer
remember the name. Perhaps there are some things we’re better off
forgetting.
So here it is: Pre-K Ponderings, named in honor of all of my
brilliantly authentic charges. I hope to record not only what they say
but also what I, their wonderfully inexperienced teacher, learn from
them.
Since my first post is being published on 9/11, I offer you a 4-year-old’s wisdom:
When his son was asked what the city should do with Ground Zero,
the boy said: “They should build two giant jungle gyms, so that kids can
play there, and they should call it the sad park.”
I encourage you to read the full story of Michael Gordon’s “The Sad Park” on NPR Music.
