“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

I Corinthians 13:11

I held her hand as we both sang together. I looked down into her bright bold eyes and thought, what is going on in this 8-year-old head right now?  She was full of smiles and I could see that she thought something of me.

As we marched around and sang, us in our own world, I couldn’t help but wonder why children would give up their childhood for adulthood. It seemed to me at that moment that childhood was the best thing there could be.

I held up my fingers for him to count with and he put up his so he could shoot my fingers down. Making his hand into a gun he begin his mission to get the answer:

Boom! One, BOOM! Two, Boom! Three, Boom! Four!…

I know the answer!  He said. I drew my breath. Not knowing whether to use this  moment to teach him about the dangers of guns or get upset at the computer gaming system he loves so much. I made sure I didn’t encourage it.  Laughing was the last thing on my mind. But the children around him seemed to understand and laughed with him. They laughed so much, he began to mimic a robot.

As I sat there with her and her brother, they traced the designs on my clothing and couldn’t stop touching the buttons on my hat. I wondered what was going through their heads. But couldn’t wonder for long. I like the buttons on my hat to much to leave them to little Curious George and his sister.

When she came up to me with a bright pink diamond like button and offered it to me to add to the collection to my hat, I couldn’t help but laugh. She clearly thought I put those buttons on myself. Do they look that out-of-place?

“For now we see though a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

I Corinthians 13: 12-13

“If you get to know your learners… you can get them to walk on water, you can get them to do anything.”

Today I spent my afternoon listening to a program on the radio called Mind the Gap: Why Good schools are failing Black Students.  This was my first time listening to this program. It is a documentary by Nancy Solomon who is a profound journalist.

While listening quite a few things ran through my head.  For example, I thought about my upbringing in the Bronx, my childhood experience  in  both the public school and the private school, the way I always felt in school and my personal thoughts I had about teachers and even college professors. Just like love is strong and know no boundaries, you can always feel hate and it hurts really bad when the one who you are suppose to look up to and learn from is not treating you like the others.

I often try to show my students  that regardless of what they do or what happens, I still love them and I want them to succeed. I know how school can be. I understand favoritism and how it can destroy a child on either side of the spectrum.

Miss Solomon’s study takes place in a high school in a suburb in New Jersey. The students seem to be in two worlds, especially the African-American students. They can choose whether to participate in school and get good grades or give over to the ‘thug’ life. One of her main comments was that their decisions to go either way doesn’t start when they get to high school but rather it starts in kindergarten. And this is something I truly believe. It all goes back to how you are treated,  especially students who are easily influenced. It may be hard for them to ever get on or back on the right track. So when you are a teacher, the child’s future is definitely in your hands.

This is why I love working at the library. I am not literally in a classroom; therefore, I am free to show all of my students that I favor them. It is a good amount of boys and girls for all of us to get along and really understand each other. Of course there are days when everyone feels like fighting but in the end, we can all manage. I know that all my students love me back. When ever they get a chance to work with me alone, it’s like a prayer answered for them. When they don’t have any homework and we all can play a game or read a book together, its like a prayer answered for both of us! We have fun regardless. And we all learn. Since I don’t always come across as a ‘teacher’ they are able to talk to me about anything.

Because of how other teachers treated me when I was younger, I know why I love children today. I learned from their (my teachers) mistakes and learned not to take their love and power of teaching for granted. What I learned from them I now use or don’t use.

Yes, indeed, when you learn, you do teach.

check out Miss Solomon at http://nancycsolomon.com/mindthegap/

Because its Black History Month and I know that most schools are now teaching their children about African-American History, I am also taking time to play fun games like Brain Quest with my students. I realise that not only is it helping them learn about History but it is making them read and best of all its fun. But of all the things that made my day the following story made me question my want to learn.

A little boy who I never had as a student today came up to me and asked me if he could ask me a question. He seemed like he was on the look out for someone . He kept looking over my shoulder. When he saw the coast was clear. He first hesitated and was about to walk away then I encouraged him to talk.

Do you know anything about the Mayan Culture?

Yeah, you mean the M-A-Y-A-N culture?

Yeah.

Yeah. Not that much but I know about it. Why?

Because that is where I am from. That’s where my people are from.

Oh, you are doing a school report?

No, it’s where I am from. I just want to know.

Really?

So we went to look for some books. It turns out he just wanted to talk to someone about it. He had a book the library he used to go to gave him. He didn’t want a book. He was still acting like he was on a look out.

What grade are you in?

Me? I’m in the fourth grade. (He said this while holding up skinny fingers).

You are very smart.

What do you mean by smart.

Well, you are very mature.

Another student called me so I left him for a while. But didn’t get to continue talking to him. The person he was looking out for, came. His mother.

But I hope I see him again. He was hungry for knowledge about his History. And wanted to talk to someone about it.

And that’s a seed that needs water everyday.