knowledge and goodness

Feel the ridges of chair made of discarded compact discs and see the turquoise and canary steps beneath my feet as I count them by the numbers written on them in Spanish. Feel the warmth of the people and their eagerness to invite us in to this school, their home. Feel my confusion as I sit in on a second grade class in which the students don’t focus on their strange visitors but rather reflect upon the importance of what they have learned that week and engage with each other and the teachers in a way that I had never experienced in my second grade classroom in New Hampshire.Imagine if I had attended this school for my childhood, if I had been encouraged to engage with the world around me and think meaningfully about my education from the time I was a young child and not only for the last few years. Imagine if I was not admitted selectively to a school because of my “worthiness” but rather randomly because every person has worth and potential.  Imagine if someone had the faith in me to say that even as a child I could make some impact upon the world and that I was not to be limited by my age.

Do I think it would have made a difference in my life to have gone to a school like this? Of course.

Share our experiences with each other as we walk the kilometer and a half back to our bus. Share our disappointment with the realization that our education has not been as holistic and fulfilling as it could have been, and should have been. Share our newfound uncertainty who we may have been if our school which passively values “knowledge” and unfortunately to a lesser degree “goodness,” had actively engaged us to feel, image, do, and share.

--Jordan