Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/docia-shares-a-story-about-meetings/5010532/
Goodman, the anthropologist, wrote that young children have big ears, big eyes, and retentive minds and interpret what they hear and watch from their base of understanding.I thought of this as I watched Randy and his friends arrange chairs in a semicircle for what Randy said was going to be a parent meeting. I had often seen children reenact roles in their dramatic play - mothers, fathers, nurses, doctors, teachers, firemen, policemen, astronauts, TV characters - but this was the first time I had seen a four year old take the role of leader and organizer of a parent meeting.
I knew that Randy's mother was active in the John Adams Child Development Center her son attended and that when she couldn't find a sitter she would take him with her to meetings. What had Randy observed, heard, and remembered? What had made sense to him?
Randy rounded up eight children and had them sit in the semi-circle. He told them they were at a parent meeting and that it was time to salute the flag and they had to stand. None of them knew the words, but they enthusiastically imitated Randy as he solemnly placed his right hand ...