Inspirational Chaos

As much as I hope to inspire my students as I teach them, I am learning more and more that it is my students who do the inspiring. As I watch and interact with them, there is so much that I can take in. Through humility, I am learning to embrace this mindset each time that I enter the classroom. Reminding myself that I am not the only one with knowledge to give and actions to model. I am not in any way above my students, towering over them, but within them, guiding and encouraging them. As teachers with our students, we can work together, in unison, uplifting each other in community, learning from each other, and challenging each other to become better. We can inspire each other.

This week I went with my practicum classroom to the pumpkin patch. Taking 60 Kindergardeners on a field trip is no easy task. This I learnt quite quickly. In fact, nothing about this day could be labeled as easy. From the moment I got there, everything was in a state of confusion. It was raining, the power was out, there was no contact with bus transportation, school was on the verge of being cancelled, all parents, teachers, and students were lost in terms of what was going on, and there were 60, five year olds that were ecstatic and beyond to go on their first field trip. It was interesting for me to watch the teachers problem solve amongst the chaos, putting the students as the priority with every decision, and effectively communicating with parents along the way. In time, the kids were on the busses and on their way to the pumpkin patch! Upon getting there, again disarray broke loose. Students running around chasing the dogs, picking up pumpkins that were five times larger than themselves, and playing in the mud; pure joy written all over their faces. I felt very comfortable in this situation (I have my summer preschool teaching experience to thank for that, where chaos was a daily endeavour), simply happy to see the kids enjoying themselves. Throughout the field trip, my mentor teacher would look at me and ask: “Are you still sure you want to be a teacher?” and with a huge grin on my face I would reply with delight: “Yes! I literally love this, all of it!” As I jumped into the fun filled adventures with the students, I was reminded of this reality that the students inspire me. I long to live like a child again. To find pure bliss in the small things like mud puddles or pumpkins, to be afraid of so little, but also so much, and to always be excited for everything. These kids were overflowing with enthusiasm. You name it, they were elated to take part in it: the bus ride, skipping from activity to activity, petting the animals, or counting the pumpkins. Everything had meaning to them, everything was a pleasure to take part in. I wonder to myself, at what point through the growing up process do we lose this zest for life, this love for learning and trying new things? This is one the biggest areas that my students inspire me most. There is this beautiful innocence about them, where they are willing to try everything, but not just try it, give it all their effort and attention. When they are asked a question, their hands shoot up like an arrow, their bums inching off the edge of their seats, squirming with such passion to answer the question. They may not even have the right answer, they simply want to contribute and learn. My students have reminded me to have a mindset that reflects the same things. To be so in love with what I'm doing that I'm inching off the edge of my seat. To remember that I am so blessed in every aspect of my life, that all I want to do is shout out the answers; to contribute to the lives of those around me. As I continue in my practice I hope to demonstrate to my students this attitude, that I want to be inspired by them as much as they inspire me, I want to learn from them as much as I want to teach them, that contrary to popular belief the students teach just as much as I do.