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Photos Courtesy of California
Historical Society, MSP 3800<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Eric was a delightful and by far the most challenging student in my classroom. My focus on these preschoolers was to teach them to think first. Eric was a child of action, who found himself in a chair to \u201cthink about\u201d the action that put him there many, many times. Sometimes he would react in anger, other times sullenness or \u2013 as often as not \u2013 silliness, counting on his charm to get him out of trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n After many exhausting months, he commented, \u201cSee what I didn\u2019t do, \u2018cause I didn\u2019t think to think it first.\u201d I felt I was finally getting through. Then a short time later he said, \u201cThinking gets too long.\u201d It was pointed out that he was spending more time in the chair, thinking about why he didn\u2019t get to do what he wanted, than if he had stopped and thought about it first. He exploded \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m mad\u201d \u2013 and he acted out. When I asked him what he was mad about, he replied, \u201cThat boy that forgot to think it first.\u201d His answer surprised me. It was a long learning process, but he had finally realized he could not count on his charm, and found delight in figuring out \u201ca bestis\u201d way.<\/span><\/p>\n My son Kevin and Eric were best \u201cclassroom friends.\u201d They lived over thirty miles apart. Had they lived closer together, they would have been \u201cbest all time friends\u201d \u2013 their words \u2013 \u201c\u2019cause we could play together all<\/i> the time.\u201d In the classroom they played and worked together on their projects of building forts, airplanes, trains, cars, with milk crates, planks and building blocks, then becoming the people who managed that world.<\/span><\/p>\n First on Kevin\u2019s birthday party list was Eric. The day of the party, Kevin stood by the window watching for Eric to arrive, although his other guests were already there. He knew that Eric had to come a long way, but explained that he \u201ccouldn\u2019t have a party if Eric didn\u2019t get to come.\u201d That is how we both remember Eric. The party didn\u2019t start until he was there.<\/span><\/p>\n