Jelly Kisses

I hold onto many illusions, some occasionally become delusions. Time seeming to be the deciding factor in what way to view this and whether to medicate and/or mediate these issues.

One of my longest held fantasies is that lots of people stop in to see me at work teaching 1^st grade to share a few minutes of our combined carbon dioxide. Or I could hope that they miss me. Or that they wonder if I wore the orange T-shirt that says, "Born to Be Wild" again. (Everyone knows that is Jack’s shirt; I wore it once on a dare for a twenty twelve YEARS ago, get over it)

"Hi", I always shout out, “Come in and get some jellies and a kiss.”

Recently a friend pointed out to me that this might be why "professionalism" was a focus of our audit.

It’s not lacking in my workplace, but I’m an adherent to a little down south hospitality. I used to say, “Grab some lemons and make yourself a life lemonade,” but my little fridge died and so you can't actually go get the lemonade out of it anymore. Man, I miss that little fridge.

But you can come into my room and get Jelly Bellies and chocolate kisses just about anytime. Sweet treat. And, no, I’m not eating them anymore, thank you higher blood sugar.

And this my friend is really why there are visitors during times, “I ought to really be working”.

But you know……actually…… the real work of a teacher is people work.

As much as it is skills, books, intellectual drive, and pies, charts, graphs, participles and pronouns, for me as the teacher it's interaction right then. And facilitation of that.

… it’s really the skill of staying around long enough and creating enough shared time that you can begin to build trust. Trust is key in many things. Because shared trust and shared time, conversation, interaction creates a space for learning and thinking. You cultivate sharing spaces, gardens. I grow a garden in a classroom and these little candies are just a bit of the fairy dust fertilizer. I’m more of a grand venture learner leader. Embarking for Tahiti today…. grab the flora and fauna guides.

It’s one of the few things I think about when designing a situation in which to begin working on motivating, discussing, leading, learning, sharing, connecting. It’s from a position of mutuality and finding space together that you can lower affective filters, begin allowing children with language limits to interact, allow an adult to bounce around inside their thoughts with you in the space. Together. And I have a few tricks…jelly and kisses is simple, step one.

And from this over time I observe. Watch my visitors. Just be in the moment with them whatever it is. Sometimes we share a laugh, sometimes a story of a day gone, sometimes a trip to a memory. That is when I know something uniquely human has happened. One of the most important things to me on earth is sharing the memories of another…it’s worth so much. Closed off from this kind of view of the role of teacher, in education where it is mis-understood, neglected, maligned, where competition, distrust and winning over mutuality is in evidence is probably harder for me to comprehend and internalize than sitting in this seat right now breathing this nebulizer stuff with my heart racing and my chest so tight.

And in my watching I begin to analyze the kids, thinking of things I can/will do to enhance the experience and cultivate an educational experience that’ll be successful.

All I’m saying is if the doors are closed, no one is there. And, for my purposes, the delight of squaring off with someone visiting in my space in Room 10, now our space, and trying a handful of Jelly Belly flavors is just a fun way to initiate associations, dialogs, laughing, of course to some it's....silly. It is…completely ridiculous.

These are just great with first grade. Okay bring in toothbrushes, get on that crusade too by all means. They are so different in how they approach their handfuls. Kids can experience flavors with all their being. Understand this, it’s you too. Or how you can be.

They read the names on my Jelly Belly poster. (I have a big flavor poster) I love to give them a handful, send them to the chart and watch their vocabulary….. I finally do break down and tell them bubblegum and popcorn and several others like blueberry and butter rum (though that might be not from the beans) are my favs. The kids read and try and sample. We make Jelly poems and Jelly increase. It's awesome. Wordplay is fun.

I’m out sick right now, took a little spill a bit ago testing my strength. Pneumonia is the pits but I had a bag of these in my bag to maybe make new friends in the Care place. This is what I’m saying; here I was sitting choked and blue, breathing through gauze when the cutest little flick of a girl sees my bag of Jelly Bellies. I say to mom, may I share with her? Well the poor tike's been there awhile, long lines and no one getting anywhere and the child with mucus to her knees has pretty much licked the entire chair and rolled, rubbed, rocked, sat, stumbled, bumbled, bucked and folded herself until she’s the definition of “had it”. So momma says, “Go ahead.”

What I love is what happened.

I go to give her a handful of these shiny, bright, happy Jelly Belly’s, maybe even do my song and dance talk though I’m pretty sick and not able. Little Bird glides over takes the package from my hand and goes back to her seat. It’s a two-pound package with those little hands all through. So I think….maybe this is how I got this flu?

And one little sparrow in Oxnard is happily sifting through the flavors choosing which one is her pick of this second. Mummm.