I recently had the opportunity to attend an excellent conference for early childhood educators, along with several of my co-teachers. During the course of the day, in addition to attending some of the conference offerings together, we also made plans to split up for several of the sessions, so that we could bring as much new information as possible back with us. On one of these breaks, I was walking alone across the university campus where the conference was held, and (like lots of other people) I was talking on the phone as I went. I am actually not great at finding my way around new places, and I had been depending on the rest of my group to get me where I was going up until that point in the day, but now I was by myself, and I expressed some reservations to my friend on the phone as to whether I was going in the right direction. I said that I was planning to get to the right building by following the rest of the crowd walking across campus with me. My friend said jokingly, "Unless you're following the wrong group of people." This was a valid concern, since there were several other groups and events on campus that day, but I replied without thinking, "Oh, no. You can recognize a group of teachers when you see one." When pressed for an explanation of this remark, I couldn't come up with one on the spot, but I've been thinking about it, and I think I know why.
First, we are women. Overwhelmingly, any group of teachers will be made up mostly of women. In all the hundreds of participants on campus that day, I counted about a dozen or so who were men, and a high percentage of those are on staff at the college and were organizers or sponsors of the conference. This is actually unfortunate. Children, especially small children, in our current culture, are badly in need of the influence of strong male role models. As cliche and well-worn as that statement has become, it has not lost its urgency or its truth for those who spend time serving, shaping, and supporting children in almost any capacity. The role of men in our society is so uncertain, and the presence of men in our children's homes is either nonexistent or sporadic in so many cases, and all these children are badly in need of someone to take up this position of leadership in their lives. Most often you hear talk of the plight of boys, and I understand why, but it's my contention that the need for the care, support, and leadership of men is just as crucial for girls. So, although work with children, particularly those who are very young, has traditionally been a woman's role, and will most likely remain primarily so, it would be great to see a few more men among our ranks.
Second, we've got bags. And that's because we've got stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. At most business conferences, you'll see people walking around with folders, laptop cases, maybe some bags they picked up at a vendor's booth and have filled with giveaways and workshop handouts. And we might have some of these, it's true. But we will have so. Much. More. We will have umbrellas, coffee cups, extra sweaters, and snacks. We'll be carrying math manipulatives we bought in the exhibit hall, flower pots we painted in one of the workshops, and all the water bottles that everyone in our group has emptied during the day so we can use them for a project we're doing. All this stuff will be transported around in bags. Every teacher has a school bag, usually several, in fact, and they are the repository for all the treasures required to serve our students well. They may be plain canvas bags, or sturdy J. Crew bags, or cute Thirty-One bags. Many of them--and I mean many--will have our names embroidered on them. But what they all have in common is that they will be filled with items that speak to two important ideas. One is our intense commitment to caretaking. After all, how could we go somewhere for a whole day without tissues, band-aids, antibacterial wipes? Someone might need them! And another is our strong belief that everything in the world is fascinating, educational, and an object of wonder. We can use it, whatever it is. It's valuable, beautiful, cool, or gross, and we know the children in our care will think so too, because they have not yet lost this view of the world, and we hope they never do. The stuff in the bag speaks to the very nature of who we are and what we do. The school bag matters.
Third, we look really comfortable. Now, don't get me wrong, we are as cute as can be. I'm not saying we look sloppy. But we will be dressed in a way that reflects our intention to get down to the business at hand, and not worry about getting our hands dirty while we do it. We won't be wearing high heels; you can't run to someone's aid or do the Hokey-Pokey in high heels. We won't have on designer clothes; paint, glitter, and blood is not good for designer clothes. We believe, wholeheartedly, as a group, that life is meant to be experienced and that learning is a hands-on business. When you hold someone on your lap as they cry, snot might get on your shirt. When, for the hundredth time, you dig a marble out of the toy toaster so that breakfast can continue, you might break a fingernail. When you love someone, and you are living life with them, you've got to get down and dirty. So while we are fashionable, maybe, in varying degrees, the exterior is not where our priorities lie. It's not about how you look, it's about what you do. Life is messy, both physically and relationally--we dress for it.
And finally, most importantly, we are happy. No kidding. We're a happy bunch of people. We will not be walking along looking all worried, or busy, or distracted. We'll be talking and laughing. Probably to people we don't know, and just happened to bump into on the way to the exhibit hall, or ended up making a newspaper wedding dress with in the last session. And there is a very, very good reason for this. Are you ready? Here it is. We love what we do. All of us. No teacher goes into the job for the money or the prestige. We are there because we know, in our heart of hearts, that what we are doing is a vitally important, hugely valuable, immensely significant work. We are passionate about kids, excited about learning, and just happy to be somewhere together, with others who share our passion and excitement--learning, sharing, telling stories, and oh, so much laughing. And when you encounter a group of people who know so clearly how lucky they are, spending every day doing something they feel this way about, believe me--you will recognize them.
