Living Life with Harmony

This past school year, I was the adviser to a darling group of children between the ages of 2 and 7. My first preschool advisory class, Casa Harmony, will forever have a special place in my heart! I really feel like I was the mother (albeit only for three hours a day) to fourteen adorable youngsters, and I shall miss them terribly this summer.

Handling preschoolers is a totally different experience! Some people look down on preschool teachers... I'm ashamed to say that even other fellow educators treat preschool teachers condescendingly. I once had a classmate in grad school scoff, "You're a preschool teacher? Wow! What do you guys teach them? ABC's?" *with matching superior sneer*

Yes, I teach them ABC's. I teach the basics. I teach them how to read and write, and how to count beyond their fingers and toes. I teach them to treat the people around them with respect. I teach them to wash their hands before they eat, how to button their shirts, how to greet everybody that comes in with a cheery "Good morning!" at 7:15 a.m.

I teach them to solve their differences peacefully, not by using their fists, but by talking and sharing their thoughts and feelings.

I teach them how to sing the National Anthem, how to say the Panatang Makabayan and how to raise their right hands properly. I teach them to treat the Flag Ceremony as a holy ritual, for in it we follow the footsteps of the heroes gone before us in swearing to love our country and work tirelessly for its betterment.

I teach them respect for other faiths as we pray together as a class... Muslims side by side with Iglesia ni Cristo, Born Again and Catholic students. I teach them to love everyone around them because everyone is a friend. I teach them how to eat with a spoon and fork like a prince or a princess, and how to clean up after their mess because we all must pitch in to take care of our environment.

And every day I teach them Music. We sing when we start the class, and we sing upon going home. I teach them that there's no problem you can't solve with a smile on your face and a song on your lips, matching the harmony in your heart.

And no, in the preschool classroom, we don't care how much your outfit costs, or how much money you make, or who your father is and what Ivy League school you came from.

In the preschool classroom, we love everyone by virtue of our common humanity. Which is as it should be.

There's nothing quite like teaching preschool students. Try it! It's good for the soul. :)