You may have gathered how much I love the innocence of kids. Helping them discover the truth without discouragement is part of the challenge and joy in teaching.
The other day a Lower Elementary (grades one, two, and three) teacher bounded into my office and asked, "Do you have a minute for a precious story?" Without hesitation, I said, "Absolutely."
She went on . . .
"Two boys, second and third graders, were explaining to the class their project on tsunamis. As you might imagine, they enthusiastically conveyed their discovery and interest in the topic to the class. Both boys were going on and on about how big the waves are and how much they can destroy towns and kill a lot of people. So much so, I could see that the class was staring wide-eyed terrified with 'incredible' written all over their faces. Before I could jump in with some perspective, first grader, Mazie, piped up with 'Salamis can't really hurt you. Heck, we live in New York City. We can get to the Empire State Building and escape the salami.' I could see the relief on the faces of the class now that they knew they could escape the salami . . . I mean tsunami."
"Two boys, second and third graders, were explaining to the class their project on tsunamis. As you might imagine, they enthusiastically conveyed their discovery and interest in the topic to the class. Both boys were going on and on about how big the waves are and how much they can destroy towns and kill a lot of people. So much so, I could see that the class was staring wide-eyed terrified with 'incredible' written all over their faces. Before I could jump in with some perspective, first grader, Mazie, piped up with 'Salamis can't really hurt you. Heck, we live in New York City. We can get to the Empire State Building and escape the salami.' I could see the relief on the faces of the class now that they knew they could escape the salami . . . I mean tsunami."
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