Morning: Feb. 16

Good morning. Kids in school. Zena sleeping soundly. Annette reading ADN Letters to Editor. Silence broken by buzzing engine of small plane taking off from Merrill Field.. List of tasks await my attention as steam rises from black coffee...

The Scream: School Today

I dropped off Asa and Eva at Aurora Waldorf School this morning, and hung around long enough to join Eva's class' morning song and verse: "....Welcome, welcome brand new day. Our hearts open wide, light shines deep inside...Good morning dear friends." This followed by a goodbye hug and kiss from Eva, I was on my way.

Like most mornings, I left the school feeling warm and peaceful, effects I attribute to an environment where children are honored, beauty is celebrated, and imagination is encouraged. However, as I made my drive home, any hint of tranquility was abruptly disrupted by a woman aggressively waving her arms and angrily yelling at me to "slow down!" I quickly glanced at my speedometer and saw I was not speeding. Standing on the sidewalk in front of the neighborhood public elementary school--which is just down the street from Aurora--she was apparently supervising children as they crossed the street.

It struck me as the antithesis of what I’d just experienced in my children's school. And I wonder what it was like for these children to witness a yelling adult just as they arrived at school for a new day. What was the spectacle teaching them about dealing with stress or a perceived violation? Was her behavior somehow justifiable or even normal in a school culture driven by rules and reward-punishment mentality? And in what ways might her anger be indicative of effects from a dehumanizing system that reduces children to "human capital" and ties their worth to scores on standardized tests?

Did anyone else hear the scream at school today?

Feb. 2011: Day 1

First day of new month stirs aspiration beyond thoughts.