The encounter started innocently enough. Her name was Susie, and she was 6. She came up my waist line, barely, and she stared up at me with her big wondering eyes, questioning me with her looks.
“Who are you?”
I get this question a lot. I try to get to every one of our school buildings, every day, and walk through. Most of the time I’m there for a meeting, to plug something in, or to make something happen. The kids notice. They question. They make up their own mind about who I am, even before I get a chance to answer.
“I’m Andreas. Who are you?
Kids are able to see things we adults don’t notice. They pay attention, even if we think they don’t. And deeply so. My own kids perceive nuances of conversations, and will drop nuggets of knowledge weeks later that hits you like a freight train. “So, is that what you meant, Dad, when you talked about [ insert random work related rant here ]. “What?”
Kids use their imagination, too, to create their own reality around them. Regardless of what we adults think is happening, the kids make their own understanding of the world come true through their imagination. It doesn’t matter what we tell them, or want them to know as their “truth”. In their minds, we’re just tall creatures that crowd their space with things they’re not interested in for the moment.
Maybe we move too fast? Maybe we should dial back the pace a bit. Let kids be kids. Maybe we should involve them more? Lift them up, support their world view, and treasure their ability to make sense of this world, even if for a few brief years it remains cloaked in rainbows & tooth fairies.
“I’m Susie. I’m a unicorn.”