Hope is a powerful thing and many would agree that it is an essential element in a good life. It should not just be a feeling that spontaneously overcomes us but something we intentionally practise. That can be hard to do, especially this year, but this is exactly why I feel so privileged to be a teacher.
Both teachers and parents delight in seeing children grow and develop day by day. That blossoming gives us hope, reminding us of their innocence, their capacity for change and why it important that we consider how we can make the world a better place.
In the early years, joy comes from watching children learn to read and write, seeing them open their eyes to different perspectives, witnessing their physical growth and the progress in their hand-eye coordination. In later years, teachers delight in the girls’ ability to respond to complex and sophisticated themes and concepts, engaging in healthy debates, sharing their opinions and benefitting from the intellect of their peers.
There are always happy moments which make us laugh and stand out in memory – even in 2020! In a week when I think we could all do with some light relief, here are some of my happy moments from the year so far:
Some Kindergarten girls were happy recently to declare me ‘President of Queenwood’! If Mrs Johnston didn’t already have reason to be jealous of my high office, she was given her chance when another girl asked her, ‘Before Mrs Toohey was the owner of Queenwood, did you used to work here as a servant?’
One of the Kindy girls was asked how a submarine and a fish are alike. Simple – a fish has big round googly eyes and a submarine has big round portholes. Who could possibly disagree? When asked about holiday highlights, another little person responded, ‘Kissing a boy’. ‘What was his name?’ asked her teacher. ‘I forget’. Sometimes our little people are completely honest. When one girl was asked what she was up to, the answer was: ‘No good’.
But Kindergarten is not the only source of entertainment. A Year 6 girl was offered a long list of extension words to help expand her vocabulary. Her reply was, ‘No, thank you. I find them a bit limiting.’ Many Year 4 girls told us with great confidence that Joseph and Judy were Jesus’s parents. When asked to define the word ‘cumbersome’, another girl replied that it had ‘something to do with cucumbers’. And when Mrs Johnston finished briefing a Year 5 Saturday sports team, one eager girl asked, ‘Where is TBC?’
One teacher earnestly tried to decode a girl’s declaration: ‘I’m a hock…ka … lock …it.’ She eventually figured it out: ‘I’m a chocoholic.’ The spelling can be a challenge for teachers who, according to one girl, ‘help people grow up to be a good percen’.
From Year 4 onwards, the PDHPE curriculum covers changes in the human body and preparation for adolescence. As the truth about changes to our bodies sank in, one remarked innocently, ‘So that’s why my mum had a big party when she turned 50!’ Another gave us all pause to think when her offering was: ‘When I’m grown up I want to be able to stay up and drink wine.’
It can be hard to live in the moment, especially this year and so easy to lose sight of the little things that make us human.
Coming to school every day, I am reminded by the cheeky smile, the shoes on the wrong feet, the little voice that yells out ‘I get it now!’
How blessed are we to be surrounded by children. They are so precious, so full of potential, so spontaneous, and as adults, we could learn a great deal about their hopes for the future.
Mrs Angela Toohey
Head of Junior School