Little People, Big Questions

Lessons from a 51-Year-Old Primary Student

One of the joys of my job is to visit classrooms. I was recently invited into circle time in a Kindergarten class. The students sat relatively quietly, putting in a lot of effort to keep their wiggly bottoms in “their spot” as they listened to each other share answers to the question, “What is one thing you are looking forward to after school today?” When the stick came to me, I shared that I might get home before dark, and I was looking forward to walking along the beach before dinner. As I passed the stick along, the youngster beside me whispered, “I live by the beach too, I like walking on the beach too.” With a connection made, as circle time ended, my new friend invited me to join her at a self-directed literacy centre as part of the morning learning rotation.

Heading with purpose to one corner of the classroom, I was introduced to the “Book Wall”. On the wall was a web of learning activities all oriented around the cover of a children’s book called “The Storm”. Each activity was connected back to a question below the book using a length of bright red yarn. I could not help myself; aside from the learning task, we began a conversation about the “Book Wall”.

As I connected each question back to the learning activity, I was moved by this young student’s answer to the second question: What types of storms are there? In mere seconds, we had moved through rain, wind, and lightning, and she looked at me and said, “Do you know that I have storms inside of me too?” I nodded respectfully, caught off guard by this beautiful moment. She quickly followed up, “Those are the hardest ones.” Not wanting to pry too much, yet longing to see where our conversation was going, I asked her what she does when she has a storm inside. “My teacher and my parents help me. I get time to be quiet, I focus on breathing in and out, and my daddy takes me to the beach.” Not wanting the moment to end, I responded, “I go to the beach too when I have a storm inside.” With a quick smile and nod, the sacred moment was gone as quickly as it came. Other students joined us to participate in the learning task.

Lesson 1: Explore Big Questions and Big Ideas with Young Students.

It was evident in our short conversation that this student’s teacher had done a masterful job of using a weather unit to scaffold engaging learning. From literacy connections, including vocabulary and printing, to Science content, and ADST (imagine Kindergarten students and bottles used to create tornadoes), student engagement was obviously at the forefront. But it did not stop there in this classroom. This classroom teacher respected the five-year-olds in her care enough to explore big topics like having storms inside. When educators caringly explore big questions and big ideas, young learners begin to develop crucial aptitudes, such as self-awareness and acceptance of others’ differences. And it is a gentle reminder that each person in the room is on their own journey. Learning also relevant to adults such as exploration of self in relation to others is best started when we are young.

Cutting paper with scissors is a complex task. You need to hold the flimsy paper still in one hand while using your opposable fingers on the other hand to work in tandem, all while keeping the cut line straight. Something we may take for granted as adults, cutting out shapes can be a challenging task for young learners. Sitting in grade one, resisting the urge to take over, I watched a young boy struggle to cut out a tree. His teacher had given the students the option: draw your own tree or use one of the provided templates. Together, the class was creating a forest that represented both the diversity of a forest and the diversity of the classroom. Again, shaped around a delightful children’s text, the class was replicating illustrations as they integrated Art, Language Arts, Science, and fine motor skill development during my morning visit. The planning was solid, but what struck me most was the beautiful interaction between the teacher and this young boy. Lower lip quivering, struggling to cut out the simplest template provided, this young student was coming face-to-face with his current limitations. His confidence wavered as his miscuts were turning his tree into kindling. Even as the rest of the class was moving to the carpet, the young teacher saw the distress and slid past, providing another template onto the table and said, “I know this is tough, you can do it, why don’t you listen from your seat while you keep working at it.” He looked around and noticed he was not the only one who was not moving to the carpet. “And this nice man can start or finish a few of the cuts for you if you think you need some help.” This teacher’s response, though simple, guided my involvement. She did not do the task for the student; she did not give him a pass. She created the space and the knowledge of support if needed, while allowing him to drive his own success. It would have been far easier for her to choose efficiency. But instead of efficiency, she prioritised learning and adapted to the student’s needs, enabling this young student to accomplish the learning task alongside his peers.

Lesson 2: Struggle Creates the Space for Grace and Resilience.

Is it possible that part of the reason students are not flourishing socially is that we are not giving them ample practice to develop these essential skills? It is not uncommon to hear adults say, “They’re too young to….” Finishing up my day in Primary, I got to enjoy the end-of-day routine in one of the classrooms. Like many classrooms, there’s a song to gather the students before they engage in the standard organising and clean up that I even remember from my own childhood. As I reviewed the weekly job list, I noticed a small difference: the first few jobs were the same: “General Helper”. Having met Sam earlier in the afternoon, and seeing her name beside this title, I asked a clarifying question: “What do General Helpers do?”

“It’s our job to see which of the other jobs are big and we need to help the people who have more to do than others.” There was an instant challenge from one of the chair stackers: “I can do it myself.” Seeing the conflict, the teacher bounced over to intervene. Drawing on previous experience, the conflict was quickly resolved through a conversation, reminding both students that receiving help can be hard and that we have to get used to accepting the gift of help from others. A lesson that many adults need to hear is being developed in the primary classroom by a brilliant young teacher who understands that not all the important learning being done in her classroom is focused on literacy and numeracy.

Lesson 3: Scaffolding and Support Help Young Students Surprise Us.

Students are up for the task if they understand how their involvement has purpose and their learning community is rooted in relationships. Are the classrooms in your school expecting the most out of their students? Are they ensuring success through the scaffolding of life skills? Children can do more than we give them credit for. Let’s ensure that our schools set high expectations and provide thoughtful levels of support that honour students as capable image bearers of a loving God.

And the next time you need a reminder of why you do the hard work of Christian leadership, spend a day in primary. It will feed your soul.

Darren Spyksma
SCSBC Associate Executive Director