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Count On Children To Sweeten Up Sour Days

On this Thanksgiving Day, I thought it appropriate to post Ramnath Subramanian’s good article entitled, “Count On Children To Sweeten Up Sour Days.” Ram (for short) is a retired public-school teacher who writes for the El Paso Times on educational topics. His article provides refreshing insight into the innocence, straightforwardness, and frivolity of little children.

I’m reminded of what our Lord said regarding the humility of little children:

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:3-5).

Ram’s Article:

In my second year of teaching, a boy who had drawn my name for a Christmas gift-exchange program pulled a red-haired troll out of his school bag and gave it to me with these words:

“I don’t have nothing to give you, Mister. But you can have this.”

This gift took on special significance because the boy and his troll were quite inseparable. Considering the fact that the gangling youth was possessed of a reserved disposition and taciturn habits, and the troll was his best friend, the sacrifice was enormous.

Then there was the boy who, for a birthday present, offered to carry my lunch bag to the cafeteria every day.

There was a hint of pride in the way he carried the bag and, by virtue of the duty he had assigned for himself, he felt obliged to walk at the head of the line as though he were Napoleon’s lieutenant.

A few weeks passed, and I was surprised one day to discover two home-baked cookies in my lunch bag. Following that, other items appeared on a daily basis, even if it was just a piece of candy.

For the record, I must add that this arrangement did not stand the test of time. Toward the end of the school year, as it so often happens, the boy fell in love, and lunchtime trysts took precedence over other matters.

We all know what a potent force love can be and how easily it will rearrange landscapes.

I am always thankful for children’s generosity and the surprises that it brings.

However, one does not need special events and circumstances to come into contact with children’s magic. Their daily conversations are enough, for there is an elixir-like quality to them, which can bring a day, gone sour on adult details, back to ebullience.

There is no quicker way to drown one’s miseries than to become caught in the humor and wackiness of children’s gabfest, a realm that is delightfully devoid of connivance and deceits.

I can fill many pages with happy anecdotes covering the full stretch of my teaching career, but let me focus on one day when students in my classroom asked to have, what they called, an “opposites day.”

As soon as I gave my nod to this activity, a boy came up to me, gave me a hug, and said that he did not like me.

A girl said I should not sign the library pass so she could not go to the library.

There was so much commotion and excitement in the classroom as children tried to outdo each other’s efforts that I bellowed out for them to not sit down and to not be quiet.

“You look very happy,” a girl said to me, after an hour of topsy-turvyness had elapsed. “Seems to me you’re having a good hair day.”

I was amazed at how adept children were in adhering to the new boundaries of speech, and how cleverly they sought out new puns and banter.

Teaching children was always pleasant work, and while the accountability-driven system imposed plenty of quotidian items to cause irritation and chagrin, I can say unequivocally that each day, after the first bell summoned children to my classroom, I seldom found things to complain about.

—Ramnath Subramanian

Brethren and friends, on this Thanksgiving Day, we have much to be thankful for, especially in the form of our children, for they are our country’s future (Psalm 78:1-8) —  they are our legacy.

Let’s think about it!

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