The innocence - and truth - of children

I don't know why, but feel like posting up tons of pictures of my students and other kids I knew while living in Japan:

A purikura picture of some of my former Japanese students during my first year living and working in Japan. Not primary, but cool nonetheless...yossha!

A picture I took of my nursery school children in Japan.  Yes, they always looked like this because they always had this energy...it is not lens blur...haha.

 

Some of my co-taiko players back in the day.  Those kids could rock those drums!

As a primary school teacher I have the blessed opportunity to learn, remember, be refreshed, and enlightened each day by these bundles of conviction (at least they convict me by reminding that Jesus said of such is the kingdom of God) called children.

1. One day, 3 primary one girls seemed bored being in the jungle gym.  There were other kids running around, going crazy as if there was no tomorrow.  These 3 girls, however, were standing in a circle right in front of me deciding how to overcome their boredom.  "This is boring, what should we do?"  "I don't know, what do you want to do?"  Silence ensues for about 25 seconds.  Suddenly, one of the girls shouts, "Look, it's a hairy monster...RUN!"  Screaming at the top of their lungs, the girls found their escape from the prison of boredom. This monster apparently chased them for the next 10 minutes or so because I never saw them bored for the rest of that recess period.  I might try that the next time I'm on the Singaporean MRT system at about 7am during a workday. 

LESSON LEARNED:  God gave us an imagination.  I should use it.  Bah-humbug to adults and 'mature' people who scoff at seemingly immature rantings or actions of others.  hey, I like to watch cartoons...especially silly ones.  What? Inappropriate or really strange behavior for someone like me? Well, that's ok...you can think that and use up energy while I watch the newest episode of Animal Yokocho and laugh my head off...  :-)

2. Today, we were studying patterns in numerals and geometric shapes.  After doing a class wide instruction, the students were busy working out their individual questions, trying to solve pattern problems in their packet.  One girl was having trouble with a few so I went over to help her with a geometric pattern problem.  I asked, "What part of this pattern is giving you trouble?"  "I don't know," she said.  So I replied, as any good teacher would, "Ok...look at it closely."  She, as any good student would, widened her eyes, leaned in very close, and proceeded to stare at her worksheet...about 2 centimeters from her paper.  I'm glad she didn't see my face...I was about to explode with laughter.

LESSON LEARNED:  I could learn a lot from kids regarding obedience.  When God says, "Look at this" I should do like my girl.  When God says go, I should go.  Stop, then I'll stop.  I wonder if God gets a kick out of us sometimes.  I love my kids...they keep me young.

3.  Sometimes my students do bad things.  Like swearing, or hitting other students, or just being mean to each other.  When I deal with them I always ask, somewhere in the interaction, "...WHY did you do it?"  The answer is usually always the same: "I don't know."  Inside I weep because I know they really don't know why they do mean things.  Who does?  A prophet in the bible once said, "The heart is desperately wicked.  Who can know it?" It's the same with adults, teenagers, anyone really.  We don't wake up in the morning saying, "Ok, how can I be bad today?!?"  We just act...and, more than nought, in a way we aren't too happy about.  Like a child, I find myself saying, "Now WHY did I do that?  I don't know."  But I do know....my fallen heart, carnal nature, old man that sometimes rises up and gets the best of me. 

LESSON LEARNED: Kids have the same problems that non-kids do.  And it is just as serious for them as it is for us.  It's not about rules, and a government or society...no matter how moral or civil it is...cannot change our hearts. We all need Jesus. He is the only one that can make an old man a new man.  An old kid a new kid.  A bad student a good student. Period.