Sassy Scholars

    I particularly enjoy the personalities of the girls I have in my classroom. Some are sassy and confident, some are sweet and friendly, others are cheeky and humorous. I can be sure that every time I go into the classroom, I will see a great variety in the way they express themselves. Within the all girls classroom, many of the girls treat one another like sisters. Though obviously there are squabbles, as can be expected in a class of 26 four year olds, often I see students want to hug each other, draw pictures of one another, and write each other’s names in the writing center. I have even witnessed students offering to give up their items in the dramatic play center to other students who want them, which though it is seldom seems so mature and respectful! I am truly lucky to work with such amazing little girls.

    I can get a good laugh just by thinking of some of the sassier girls. One week I was going from center to center classroom managing, and my core member at the reading center signaled that she needed help because there were too many girls there (this is certainly a rare occurrence, as it is traditionally a less popular center). I spent some time there reading “Goodnight Moon” per the request of a very excited student. Partway through the story, she says, “I’m going to go to the moon someday!” I respond, “Oh, would you like to be an astronaut?” She looks at me, hands on hips and says, “Noooo!” I suppress my laughter, and say, “How will you be going to the moon then?” prompting her to explain. She stands up and says, “like this!” and proceeds to do a fairly talented version of the moon walk on the colorful carpet. My jaw dropped and I had to applaud her. “Where did you learn to do that?” I inquired. She did a sassy little head bob or shoulder move, and replied, “my mom!” As in her mind, who else would have? What was great is after this, we were able to return to our reading of “Goodnight Moon.”

    On the other side of the spectrum, I adore the girls who are significantly less outgoing. There are several students who are very quiet and who have clearly had lessons on manners from their parents. Last week I had a student come up to me and wait patiently at my side, then softly pat my knee and say, “excuse me Miss Kershaw,” in a voice that sounded like honey. I don’t want to say I favor such students, as I try to treat all of my students equally, but when students have such respect I want to respond to their needs as soon as humanly possible! It is so refreshing to see children be so polite when even adults on my metro commute to school can be so incredibly rude. I always make a point to thank students when they are so kind and explain why I am thanking them.

~Dorian Kershaw
Team Leader
Team Compassion