Sidewalk Chalk on a Friday Morning

The sun is peeking over the slanted red metal roof and the wind is softly blowing. The temperature is a perfect 65 degrees. It's 8:30am on a Friday morning in February. And the children are playing outside my office window.

They are taking their spelling words and writing on the front walk with chalk. All up and down the walk, you can see their happy little faces and hear them chattering to each other. Everyone gets their own 4' x 4' square. They aren't allowed to draw pictures until they get their work done.

It's such amazing insight into the inner workings of their brains. Some write the words quickly, eager to get on with the drawing part. Some struggle to get started, waiting until the last minute. Some write impossibly tiny, careful to save their chalk and maximize their drawing space for when the work is done. Some write letters the size of their feet, proud to show off that they are good spellers and can write out those words. Some list the words carefully and neatly, in nice even rows. Some write in every direction and size.

Times like these make me glad to work here, in this building with these people. It seems like a no brainer that kids would love to write their spelling words with chalk. But when you factor in all the "stuff" that teachers are required to do and kids are required to master, 30 minutes spent outside just enjoying the morning and letting the kids have fun with learning is hard to carve out. There are tests to be taken, assessments to give, lessons to plan, and interventions to implement. There are behaviors to correct, phone calls to make, emails to process, and papers to grade. Education has changed so much since "we" were in school. Teachers don't get to teach anymore and children don't get to learn. Teachers get to collect, analyze, and chart growth data while students get to strive to reach and accomplish age appropriate expectations.

But sometimes, just for a brief moment in time, kids get to be kids and learn for the fun of learning, and teachers get to guide them in exploration of knowledge, letting them experience the material in a way that is both memorable and meaningful while working in their own way at their own pace.

It makes me want to grab a piece of chalk and go outside to play.