Learning Teaching: Kiddie Wisdom

I know I would not remain with this privilege forever, that is why I decided to, along with my Law School Reflections series, write a separate series I decided to plainly call “Learning Teaching” – a term I have often used in our undergraduate studies. Unlike my Law School Reflections series, this most definitely wouldn’t last around five years. This is why I am making it a point to congest everything in a single post, and I hope you wouldn’t mind. I suppose there is just so much to take in when you are within and taken in a child’s world; in fact, I am starting to think I am learning far more from the kids than they are, from me. I want to share these joys with you.

Yesterday, as I was dismissing the class with a prayer, I noticed how Zaza and Jaden insisted on kneeling with their heads bowed down. I paused momentarily before having a short flashback of events. During the first month of supervising the kids, I have noticed how, during flag ceremony prayers, Jaden always squats down and I, stepping in and believing his actions are purely out of naughtiness, consistently tap his elbow with a whisper, “No, Jaden. You stand up.”

I was brought back to the present time with a tug from both kids. “See, teacher? Zaza and I bowed down to pray.” I smiled, suddenly feeling ashamed of my ignorance. Was it because I was too accustomed to the ways of now – no longer realizing the expression of reverence even just by bending my knees in public? I cringe, remembering how similar my judgment and actions were with the disciples’ when they had tried to keep the children from getting near Christ.

“Jaden, why are you always smiling?” I asked, suddenly in the mood to start a random chat after a few seconds of staring at his grinning face. I have always found him adorable and I couldn’t help not enjoying his cuteness once in a while.

He lifted his head and waved his twistable crayons in front of his face and said, “Because I’m happy. Because God loves me.”

I was taken aback by his response as if I didn’t know how much the Lord’s love can do to a person. I shouldn’t be surprised, having been a Christian for quite a while now, but I was actually humbled by how a five-year-old could remind me of such a striking truth that we, adults and young adults, have so-often forgotten. Was the simple understanding of God’s love for us enough to paste a smile on our face for a day? I suppose all we have to do to confirm it, is to ask a child. I shook my head in disbelief at my own callousness.

There is so much I have realized, working around children for a few months, and they have always brought me back to diminishing the complexity in life. Life is beautiful, and they have allowed me to allow the beauty to show itself even in the simplest manner – like a stroke in the hair, a kiss on the cheek, a little “I love you, Teacher Aine,” or a bear hug. Beautiful. Pure. And I would never wonder why Jesus Christ preferred faith and praises like theirs. It took me a privilege of serving them to understand.

I have always been told that this job is an opportunity to minister to the children. It’s funny how most of the time, I felt like it was the other way around.