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Jack arrived, a bit anxious, for his first day of school at
Abington Friends, a private elementary school in Jenkintown,
Pennsylvania. Would he have to talk to anyone? Would he like the teacher?
What would he fingerpaint? Understandable fears for a kindergartener.
Only this one is a 36-year-old lawyer who normally spends his day putting
together million-dollar deals, not Lego blocks.
Every Saturday for the last year, Betsi Carter has opened her
classroom to about 10 adults. They spend 3 1/2 hours getting to
understand what it is to be a child--and what that requires of
parents.
Smith, who has been working with five-year-olds at the school for
almost a decade, long searched for a way for parents to get a kid's eye
view of the discovery process kindergarteners go through. With true
kindergarten logic, she decided to show them rather than tell.
One of the first things to bring them up short is
choice--kindergarteners get to choose their activity. If, say, it's
painting, they pick the paper they want, the paints to use, the colors,
and decide what to design. The opportunities are limitless. To parents
whose biggest choices usually involve what kind of sandwich to have for
lunch, that can be a real eye-opener.
Mess is another revelation. Parents learn to tolerate it--even love
it. "Adults are conditioned not to make anything messy," says Carter.
"But fun is like sex--it should be messy." Sharon, an advertising
executive, agrees. "I was told never to order anything but vanilla ice
cream for dessert during business dinners by my boss. I love chocolate.
Being in kindergarten, I regained my spontaneity and stopped worrying
about keeping everything neat and polished. Kindergarten teaches you to
order chocolate."
Expecting the unexpected is the true essence of discovery in the
class, says Carter. "They don't know what it is that they are making or
what they are going to do, they just know that they are taking a risk.
That's the big step."
If parents get so much out of seeing life through their childrens'
eyes, can kindergarten therapy be far behind? "I think of kindergarten
like a back rub," muses Carter. "You don't need it but it feels
good."
Okay, and pass the fingerpaints.
ILLUSTRATION
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