Play School

That almost imperceptible moment a student realizes they CAN learn is just the best.

Maybe that’s why I played school so much as a kid.

I was a nerdy kid from the get-go. When other girls in the neighborhood were “playing house,” I “played school.” My parents had gotten a couple of those all-in-one desks where the seat and work surface were all fused together (and TOTALLY made for right handers, not lefties like me), and had made a chalk board for me at the front of my pretend classroom.

I would assign myself homework, then do the homework and grade it. I would often use old textbooks of my mom’s, but I’d invent lesson plans, too, building them out of ideas I’d read in Highlights Magazine so I could have art class as part of the curriculum.

I’ve always been a fan of learning - and teaching. My favorite moment is when I see a student’s demeanor change - even for just a hot second, in a glance, or a subtle nod - and they realize that they CAN learn (and consequently, are READY to) what I’m showing them. Them actually learning doesn’t excite me as much as this does. It’s that visible indicator that what I’m sharing is connecting with them somewhere. I reached them where they are. I figured out what they needed to learn — but more importantly, how they needed to hear it.