A story of originality, creativity and a commentary on the value of early childhood experiences.
“Children’s Minds Are Like Sponges
I was six years old. I was a first grade student in the Pauline Street public school in north Randolph, Mass. – a suburb of Boston. My first grade teacher, Miss Ruth McKim had gone on vacation, and Mrs. Kane, the other first grade teacher in the Pauline Street School has taken over her/my class during her absence. Back in those days, mimeograph machines were used in the schools to create inexpensive images to pass out to children to draw on and use for testing. On her machine, Mrs. Kane ran a bunch of picture outlines of a pig dressed in bib overalls for the children to “color in.” When I received mine, I wanted to make it distinctly my own, so I drew a patch on my pig’s overalls before coloring in his image. My addition of the patch was immediately noticed, given special attention, and celebrated as “creative” and somewhat special among a group of uneducated children “who merely did as they were told.” In fact, my pig picture was sent home to my mother (who was also a school teacher) as an example of unsolicited and diligent work by a child with an active and creative mind. Incredibly, this event left a life-long impression on me that definitely changed my life as a student and human being. Who would ever have guessed that such an event would make a lasting effect on a child! I have discovered that the seemingly simple events in the daily life of a child during their formative years can, indeed, make a major difference in that child’s future development, and ultimately, his or her future life! Imagine the children that have been told “you are stupid, and you will never amount to anything when you grow up!” A dangerous and possibly deadly self-fulfilling prophesy, maybe? If so, what a pity. Grammie and I always tried to instill the understanding in our kids that they had the power, intelligence, and capability to become anything – or anybody that they chose to be. . . . and that failure was NOT EVER an option. Please, never underestimate the power of the human mind and spirit!”
W. David Johnson
