May 20th

Today my supervisors gave me a beautiful handmade pop-up thank you card with a sweet note from each teacher- I have felt so blessed this month to have ended up working with such gracious and thoughtful people.  They have been so silly and loud and constantly made silly noises and jokes with the kids but under all their characters I can tell they care so much and take great pride in what they do.  It is no wonder- I have learned this month that although people often brush off preschool as a fun bonus for kids or simply an inferior way for working parents to keep kids occupied during the workday. In reality, I see that even though kids may not remember their preschool teachers’ names or consciously appreciate them later, preschool teachers are entrusted with the crucial job of guiding people through the most delicate and impressionable years of their lives.  When I put the little babies down for their naps, my favorite part of the day, and look at their tiny faces, their wispy hair and their hands just big enough to wrap around my thumb, it becomes so shockingly clear that these children know absolutely nothing about the chaos and sadness and deep troubles of the world and for just a short moment we have a chance to put them on a good path and teach them to be kind before they grow up and become set in their ways.  With older people, even older kids, helping the right way can feel so hard because it’s so hard to know exactly what people need and how to give it to them- peoples’ lives can grow so complicated that no matter how hard you work to give them what you think they need, you could still get it wrong. With little kids, helping and guiding and lifting them up is so easy because all they really need is love and attention and they’re never too proud or suspicious to accept the love you give them.

            One thing this job taught me I need to keep working on is my level of patience. I had so much fun with the kids but sometimes it felt so hard when three babies were crying and a two year old was throwing a tantrum to not just snap at someone or walk out and take a break. It occurred to me this month that patience is like a skill a person has to practice again and again consistently to get better at- it’s not like other good qualities like intelligence or charisma that can sometimes just naturally come with someone’s personality. It seems like no one is born patient, they just learn to handle chaos and tension with more and more grace.

            Overall, I feel like this project, though entering it I didn’t expect it to feel new, really reshaped my view of children, teaching, and simply but more importantly brought me so much joy each day.  University City Children’s Center will always hold a happy place in my heart and I hope to return sometime soon.