Child Study

Prior to beginning my summer placements at La Casa de Don Pedro and Ridge Street School, I thought the prospect of getting to know a child and writing about how our relationship evolved over time seemed like an interesting task. I assumed I would make a connection with a child at Ridge, since I will be there in the fall. Once I started going to both sites, however, the assignment of selecting a child became more challenging.

At Ridge, the first student I thought I wanted to write about suddenly stopped coming to the program. Others were running around all afternoon and going on the daily field trips. I wondered when I would get a chance to get to know one of these children. At La Casa de Don Pedro, the children in my classroom are 5, 6 and 7-year-olds. Engaging them in conversations that would lend insight to their lives outside of camp was not as easy as I initially thought it would be.

Things sometimes happen organically when you are not forcing the issue, and that is exactly how I came to connect with Damian, and ultimately decided to make him the focus of my Child Study. I first noticed Damian on my second day at La Casa. The high energy and noise in the bustling room made it difficult for me to focus in on one specific child before I started learning their names, but he was one of the first children I could readily identify because of his ubiquitous blue Crocs. When I came in the next day, he greeted me warmly and started talking about his brother returning from a trip to Puerto Rico without prompting. No other students had initiated conversation with me that early on, unless it was to ask a question or for permission to do something. From that day forward, I observed him and how he interacted with others on a daily basis, simply because his desire to share information about himself piqued my interest in him.

Damian is entering the second grade at McKinley, which he attends with his sister. She also attends La Casa, but is in the third grade classroom. Over the last few weeks, I have learned that Damian loves to play his Nintendo DSI XL. Every morning before the students go up to their classroom, and during play time, he can be found in a corner playing his video game intently, completely unaware of what is happening around him. He loves to draw pictures, and he is extremely bright. Often during lessons when I would ask questions to extend the students' understanding of a concept, he would impress me with his philosophical breakdown of topics like the difference between a need and a want.

Damian has helped quell more than one argument, but one particular moment that comes to mind when he displayed great maturity. One student's nose was running profusely, and the consistency and color made me think he had a cold. I went to grab a tissue for him when one of the boys sitting at the table yelled, "Gross! That's disgusting!" Damian calmly replied, "It's no big deal. Everyone has snot." It put everyone at the table at ease. The little boy whose nose was running looked relieved, and the other student realized his outburst was unnecessary. That was an example of a teaching moment through peer modeling. It was clearly not a good idea to make fun of something that is a natural part of being a human being.

I assumed Damian was always this way, but one of his teachers informed me that she has seen a lot of growth in him since last year. Apparently, he would get up from his seat all the time, talk while the teachers were talking, and disrupt the class on a daily basis. His teacher told me she thought his teacher at school played a pivotal role in the change. That made me hopeful about the kind of growth in children I can play a role in.

I have realized that forming relationships with children is not the same process as with adults. You might pursue a connection with another adult for various reasons, but nothing will come of it if both parties are not interested in having a relationship. With children, however, I find it to be far different. They may have nothing to say to you one day and then be sitting in your lap the next, begging you not to leave them at the end of the day. Since most of their interactions with adults occur because of necessity rather than choice, their decision to connect with an adult in an informal setting has real meaning.

Over the last few days, I have learned more about several children at Ridge than I had since the program began a few weeks ago. Students who came some days and not others, and were always preoccupied with other things have suddenly become talkative. I am not sure if seeing me over a period of time made them feel more comfortable talking to me, or if there was something I was doing differently, but I am going to think about that over break. I want to have meaningful connections with all my students, and I need to figure out how to do that while navigating all the personalities I will soon encounter.