Suffer Little Children

I consider Kindergarten teachers superheroes. They bring their classes to the media center in silence and drop them off for 20 minutes of adorable chaos. The little ones crawl around the floor like cats finding a spot to settle. They poke each other then find it necessary to tattle on the poker.  Everyone of them wants to speak to me at once, telling me about what just happened or about what they wish for. They find it hard to sit still during story time, as every book page needs to be commented on and peered at closely. And just as I believe I have got their attention, I notice one slinking off behind a bookshelf, and another creeping towards the computer lab.   I also have students swear they "forgot" their books at home, when I know they were returned days ago. It is hard to convince a 5 year old that the books they left the library with are now back on the shelves.

Then I bump into the same children walking in a line through a crowded hallway.  They all have their mouths closed and cheeks puffed out as they walk silently.  Instead of greeting me verbally, they waggle a "mini finger wave" in my direction.  Some stop to give me a hug, but don't break ranks or hold up their line. I was definitely impressed!  I started to watch their teachers to see what I could learn from them.  "Bubbles in!, Hand by your sides," were the magic words, somehow helping them to focus on their behavior instead of what others were doing around them.
My responsibilities in the school include a 12th grade advisory which meets for 20 minutes a week with me. The seniors barely greet me, get out their phones and lie on the floor. I leave them be, hoping to avoid a confrontation over rules and how mean all the teachers are. One girl who, due to a troubled upbringing and other factors I can't begin to understand, hasn't matured emotionally much past that of a Kindergartener.  She calls me names and has temper tantrums.  I don't think the "Bubbles in!" concept ever worked on her.  I started to dread my 20 minutes with her each week. 

Other staff considered me lucky to only have to put up with her for 20 minutes!  "Just ignore her'" they said. So I found myself watching the clock, both with my seniors and my Kindergarteners, hoping it would pass quickly.
The Senior advisory was given the task of making a tie blanket for a children's home. When I tried to rally them into the planning, they politely ignored me, hoping I'd let the whole thing go. After all, no one expects seniors to do anything. But I went ahead and ordered the fabric, believing that even so, the blanket would never get made. 
To my surprise my homeroom immediately took charge when they saw the fabric, not letting me in, even on the cutting.  When our short time was up, the group all left except my foul-mouthed friend. She stayed on through her study hall to finish the blanket by herself.  And in the process of cutting and tying, she transformed into a focused productive being, ready and willing to help out in a civilized manner. And the next time we met I asked for some creative assistance with a elementary project. Once again the seniors came through and worked cheerfully.

I changed my attitude towards those 20 minutes: they were too short to waste, and I better make the most of those precious minutes with each student 5 years through 18 years.
I try to find creative tasks for them to do, which they can focus on, participate in rather than merely observing. If they know the story I'm reading, I let them take over it's telling. I encourage them to focus on their own behavior, and no one else's. "What are you interested in?" "What will you choose to create?" And yet they still need to work with others.  A team of four children will build one Lego castle; friends will read the same book together; and at the computer one student will ask his neighbor, "How did you do that?"
As one student was leaving the media center he remarked to his friend, "I wish I could live at school!"  And just like that I was already looking forward to his next visit to the media center and what would come out of it.
Suffer little ones to come unto me... I'm ready!