Remember to play

William Ayers in his book, To Teach: The journey of a teacher, has continued to remind me that learning is not passive and that teachers should learn from their students just as students learn from their teacher. When I made the decision to go back to school in order to become a teacher, I needed to find a part-time job to help pay tuition. My oldest son suggested I seek work through a babysitting service online. Seeing this as being close to my career goal, I decided to take his advice. It has turned out to be an amazing opportunity. For one, it has encouraged me to play more. In fact, I now consider playing to be one of my greatest strengths as a baby-sitter. Whether playing board games, ball games or make-believe, I am becoming more creative again, and I think Ayers would approve.

Babysitting has also given me the opportunity to observe children in their home environment. One of my families has two girls. One is in second grade and the other in kindergarten. Sometimes the girls like to play school with each other while I am caring for their younger brother. They model what they have seen in their school. One becomes the teacher, and the other is the student. The main role of the teacher is to hand out worksheets to the student and then correct them after they have been completed. The teacher stands up in front of the student while the student sits at a table or desk to do the worksheet. I have observed that the coveted role is being the teacher and that the teacher is the powerful one in their role playing. Should I leave them play or encourage them to be more creative with their teaching and attempt something new? The good thing is that they alternate being the teacher.