on this day in history

No. I'm not going there. That whole thing leaves me feeling as though my faith in humanity has been horribly misplaced. 

Instead, I would like to share a moment with you from somewhere inside a public elementary school somewhere in the U.S. 

Perhaps you've heard of them, the public schools? They are dungeon-like places. I am fortunate to be a guard and not an inmate, so it works out well for me, except that I am terribly incompetent from what I understand. Better that my job be eliminated so that they can replace my dungeon with some shiny new SuperMax with competent guards (so determined to be because they don't work in a public school --yes, that's all it takes!).

But I digress. Not going there, the author reminds herself ...

On this day in history (20 January 2017), somewhere inside a public elementary school in an undisclosed location, two boys were about to restore my faith in humanity.

To set the scene, I work with these two first graders once a week; ordinarily, there is a third with them, but he was out at a dentist appointment. They receive special education services, which are provided to students to supplement their classroom programs. These two young men have had difficulty learning to read. This is why we work together.

Imagine two six-year olds, one built like a future linebacker, and the other a wiry little fellow with boundless energy. They have had a successful lesson, despite me asking them to draw as part of the activity. One of them (the future linebacker) also has difficulty with fine motor skills, and writing and drawing is very challenging for him. He wanted to refuse. He didn't.

These two had a successful, if draining, lesson (I was, after all, required to keep up with six-year olds). At the end, as at the end of every session, there is a reward provided. By definition, when a student receives special education services, they are working on skills that are hard for them to learn. It's how and why they get services. Working hard should be rewarded. I pay them. It's their job, so I give them money, a quarter each time they come and participate successfully.

They save up their money to buy prizes --trinkets, toys, stickers, and knick-knacks. I have organized a catalogue containing these items into sections, with items that are least exciting costing the least (50 cents for a sticker) and that are the most exciting costing the most ($2 for play dough!). This helps them work on delayed gratification, but I won't bore you with those details or the research behind it as I am an incompetent and clearly haven't thought this through.

On this day in history (20 January 2017), these two little fellows made a decision. They decided to pool their money. Both contributed equally. They wanted to buy a box of crayons for $1.50. They hadn't thought it through completely (one box of crayons, two kids ...), but they wanted to buy it together. Yes, the young man with issues with being able to use crayons wanted to buy ...crayons; the other one had not talked him into it. They just knew they wanted to work together to buy crayons and they wanted to share. 

This seems like a little thing. It is a little thing. I'll tell you this, though: that little thing, spontaneously done by two six-year olds who had no idea about world events that were unfolding outside that public elementary school on this day in history, made my day. It more than likely made my next four years and maybe longer.

**Follow-up: I gave them each their own box of crayons because melty heart. One of them asked if their classmate who was at the dentist could have one, too. We might be okay, people.

**UPDATE 21 January 2017: My friends L.M. Bryski & Michael Topic gave me a great idea! 
If you would like to be supportive, please contact a local school in your area --preferably one in an area that has more economic challenges --& see about donating art supplies for kids there. These might include crayons, markers, scissors, glue, paper, ... . 
Not all kids are fortunate enough to have these supplies in their homes, & not all kids are into this kind of thing, but for a kid with ideas, art supplies can be like gold. Keeping it local impacts your community. I love the idea of people helping themselves!