I originally wrote the following piece when I was teaching Kindergarten in Abu Dhabi. The answers and the moment really resonated with me. I allowed my thinking about children to evolve further. My students reminded me of Mari Copney (also known as Little Miss Flint) and her advocacy work around the water crisis in Flint, MI. She was just 8 years old when she first wrote to President Obama asking him to meet with her. She is amazing. Mari and my students and other young people like them give me hope that this next generation of educators, changemakers, and advocates is going to be something fierce!
I teach 5 year olds, as many of you know. With that, often comes the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” You’ll get the usual answers of doctor, teacher, firefighter….princess. Those answers are great, but not typically thought provoking or moving.
Today I changed the question.
During my morning meeting time, my students always have an opportunity to share. Sometimes we share in partners or whole group. Sometimes I’m asking what flavor of ice cream they like and sometimes I’m wondering how they’ll change the world with the superpower they want. Today I asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” I went on to say, “I don’t meant what do you want to be, but what do you want to do. When I was younger I knew that I wanted to help kids, but I didn’t know that I wanted to be a teacher for a long time.” I gave them some time to think and after a few moments nearly every student was raising their hands. I want to share a few of the answers–
“I want to explore.”
“I want to make sure all of the homeless people have homes to live in.”
“I want to take care of sick babies.”
“I want to give poor people money.”
“I want to help children learn.”
“I want to teach kids how to swim.”
“I want to protect my country like my dad.”
I was so amazed, impressed, and proud of them. Many of the answers spoke to a problem that these 5 year old children have identified and want to solve. How would our world be different if we really asked children what they think?