A Manner of Speaking
96 A MANNER OF SPEAKING EXCHANGE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
Copyright © Exchange Press, Inc. All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. Visit us at www.ChildCareExchange.com or call (800) 221-2864.
www.ChildCareExchange.com
Photograph by Bonnie Neugebauer
A Manner of Speaking by Bonnie Neugebauer
Kids’ Camp Road Trip 2016 Take four children, ages six to nine, on a five-day roadtrip and what happens? You get it all: joy • prickliness • amusement • sadness • fear • trust • anticipation • surprise • empathy • confidence • pity • indignation • envy • curiosity • wonder • happiness • anger • weariness • courage • timidity • pride • caution • boldness • patience • anxiety • respect • appreciation • excitement • frustration • tenderness • trepidation • generosity • defiance • disappointment • love Mixed in with all the laughter and the tears, the hugs and pouts, there is a renewed and profound awareness of the complexity of the human spirit. Roger and I belted our beloved grandchildren into a Dodge caravan and headed out one beautiful Saturday morning from Rockport, Massachusetts, west to New Hampshire. In our time together we stayed in a rustic lake cabin, picked wild blueberries and made a pie, sampled honey right from the bees, hiked, swam, picked crabapples with Carol Hillman, tried woodturning with Sam Scherer, slept outdoors, read stories, ran through meadows, and rode on the Swanboats in Boston’s Public Garden — twice. Through sharing these experiences, we learned to know each other more deeply. As our knowledge builds about Zachary, Caroline, Jonah, and Schon, we are struck with how complicated they are and we become increasingly unable to describe them succinctly. If you were to know any one of them, I would want you to know them in their full complexity. I would not want you to take any one moment and use it to identify this child. Any child is both brave and cautious, angry and empathetic, joyful and sad — it is knowing when and how they feel these emotions that we learn how to respond in ways that support their individual development and integrity of self. Of course, parents know all about the highs and lows, the ebbs and flows of human development; extended families can learn through time and accumulated experiences. An individual child, a child with siblings and within his or her family, children with a playmate or small group of friends — in all these circumstances, children are their true selves, and their complexity shows. It is often challenging, but certainly critical to learn about a child in all of these different scenarios. Any one moment or one situation is only a sampling of who they really are. And that provokes me to think about a teacher. A teacher who spends each day with several or many children. This teacher must know them all and must know each one deeply. To know a child, one must search for his or her complexity. This is a huge expectation for a teacher. But there are many amazing, talented, well-trained, deeply committed teachers who do know each child. They make certain that they do. I am in awe of these professionals.
Bonnie Neugebauer is founding editor of Exchange magazine and co-founder of the World Forum Foundation.
This is what we expect of teachers; in fact, this is what a great teacher must be able to do. And to do this, teachers need our support. They need professional development, worthy wages and benefits, ongoing support and skilled mentoring. We need to really see teachers in the context of our expectations and give them what they need. For the children most dear to us and for the sustainability of our planet, we need every child to be fully known.
Copyright © Exchange Press, Inc. All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. Visit us at www.ChildCareExchange.com or call (800) 221-2864.
www.ChildCareExchange.com
Photograph by Bonnie Neugebauer
A Manner of Speaking by Bonnie Neugebauer
Kids’ Camp Road Trip 2016 Take four children, ages six to nine, on a five-day roadtrip and what happens? You get it all: joy • prickliness • amusement • sadness • fear • trust • anticipation • surprise • empathy • confidence • pity • indignation • envy • curiosity • wonder • happiness • anger • weariness • courage • timidity • pride • caution • boldness • patience • anxiety • respect • appreciation • excitement • frustration • tenderness • trepidation • generosity • defiance • disappointment • love Mixed in with all the laughter and the tears, the hugs and pouts, there is a renewed and profound awareness of the complexity of the human spirit. Roger and I belted our beloved grandchildren into a Dodge caravan and headed out one beautiful Saturday morning from Rockport, Massachusetts, west to New Hampshire. In our time together we stayed in a rustic lake cabin, picked wild blueberries and made a pie, sampled honey right from the bees, hiked, swam, picked crabapples with Carol Hillman, tried woodturning with Sam Scherer, slept outdoors, read stories, ran through meadows, and rode on the Swanboats in Boston’s Public Garden — twice. Through sharing these experiences, we learned to know each other more deeply. As our knowledge builds about Zachary, Caroline, Jonah, and Schon, we are struck with how complicated they are and we become increasingly unable to describe them succinctly. If you were to know any one of them, I would want you to know them in their full complexity. I would not want you to take any one moment and use it to identify this child. Any child is both brave and cautious, angry and empathetic, joyful and sad — it is knowing when and how they feel these emotions that we learn how to respond in ways that support their individual development and integrity of self. Of course, parents know all about the highs and lows, the ebbs and flows of human development; extended families can learn through time and accumulated experiences. An individual child, a child with siblings and within his or her family, children with a playmate or small group of friends — in all these circumstances, children are their true selves, and their complexity shows. It is often challenging, but certainly critical to learn about a child in all of these different scenarios. Any one moment or one situation is only a sampling of who they really are. And that provokes me to think about a teacher. A teacher who spends each day with several or many children. This teacher must know them all and must know each one deeply. To know a child, one must search for his or her complexity. This is a huge expectation for a teacher. But there are many amazing, talented, well-trained, deeply committed teachers who do know each child. They make certain that they do. I am in awe of these professionals.
Bonnie Neugebauer is founding editor of Exchange magazine and co-founder of the World Forum Foundation.
This is what we expect of teachers; in fact, this is what a great teacher must be able to do. And to do this, teachers need our support. They need professional development, worthy wages and benefits, ongoing support and skilled mentoring. We need to really see teachers in the context of our expectations and give them what they need. For the children most dear to us and for the sustainability of our planet, we need every child to be fully known.
