Spirituality and Children: A Rite of Spring

I worked for twenty-three years in the public schools, most of it as an elementary school counselor. One seasonal memory from around this time of year that I remember with nostalgia was taking part in the testing of preschoolers who would be starting first grade in the fall.

Our school custodians would prop open the main doors at either end of the downstairs hall that ran the full length of our sturdy two story brick building. A stream of children and parents would enter with the cool morning air. Most children were dressed in their spring best: the girls in light pastels and whites with the boys often wearing serious shirts – meaning they weren’t just T-shirts but had buttons!

The array of personalities displayed by these tiny people was astounding and delightful. There were children who would jump from their seats and start to head straight for the school door after finishing with you. I guess all their previous life experience told them that by now they must be off work for the rest of the day. You had to go out after them and sell them on the notion of taking another test: no, your mom’s really not expecting you back just yet… and you do want to get some more stickers on that bear, don’t you? But I bet you like coloring books, right? Because when you’re all done, you get to color!

There were highly conversational children who’d ask, for example, whether you were married – and “How come?” if you said you weren’t! And there were those very polite children who, finished with your task, would soundlessly place their pencil down and wait until you happened to look up from your paperwork several minutes later to perceive that you’d just done your small part to help slow down the overall efficiency of the process. But just try getting mad at a tiny person with barrettes in her hair examining you curiously from behind her glasses who’s perfectly well aware of the fact that she’s being very good and exceptionally patient but also kind of wondering “So what gives with this guy, anyway?”

Looking back, a big part of the fun of this annual event was the contrast between two worlds. On the one hand, those of us over the age of five felt a lot of pressure. We were supposed to complete the testing by lunchtime so that those assigned to score the tests would be able to complete the task that afternoon. Otherwise we knew the Principal might yell at them. But aside from maybe two or three kids with a little separation anxiety during the first half hour, the five year olds kept pretty loose.