Teach The Children Well

For one brief semester in college, my major was Education. It had been English Literature and I was told that unless I wanted to become a writer, there was not much I could do with that degree. (Oops!) So I switched to Education. A semester later, I changed to Communications which is what I actually stuck with until then end.

You see, what I liked most about the idea of teaching was long breaks and summer vacations. And I knew even back then that those traits do not a teacher make.

My Communications degree has served me well. It opened up the right doors for me and allowed me to find my own path. My minor in English Lit has done very little for me, except give me cold sweats and nightmares about poetry, Medieval writings and other such topics that did not really interest me. I longed to be like Dead Poets Society and instead, was much more like a PG version of Animal House.

My daughter started daycare at seventeen months. She originally went two days and week and now she goes three days. We could not be happier.

There is a structure and a routine at daycare that Miranda cherishes. She has loved each of her teachers and had made many friends. She has learned more on her days there than we could have ever imagined. Now three and a half, she is a sponge to absorb whatever gets thrown her way and she is soaking it all in. 

The teachers that spend time with Miranda day in and day out, do it because they love children. Because they love to help children learn. They do not get their summers off and they do not get long vacations. I have always heard that daycare teachers do not get paid that well because of insurance premiums and because the overall cost of running a facility is so high. So they are obviously not in childcare to get rich!

When I stopped doing my freelance work, Gary and I discussed pulling Miranda out of school. It was a very short conversation. We knew she needed the time there to be with the other kids and learn and have fun and that I needed the time to be home and write my story.

This morning I dropped Miranda off at daycare, gave her a hug and a kiss and told her to have a great day. It was silly because I know that she will. I know that she will learn and be stimulated and be well looked after and there is a good chance that when Gary goes to get her tonight, she will not want to come home.

I am proud of the early start to her education that she is receiving and I am thrilled that she has such an amazing capacity to learn. Here's hoping it stays that way!