Hallelujah Kind of Childhood

“The word joy will probably not show up in a curriculum guide,” wrote the late, beloved educator Bev Bos in Child Development: A Beginnings Workshop Book. “And I don’t hear many politicians using that word when they talk about schools and money and accountability. But those of us working hard to ensure a childhood for so many children know that if we did not hear laughter, giggling, hoopla, shouting, and cheering in our centers we couldn’t go on. It is the joy of each child that keeps us doing what we do.

Pete Seeger talked about how a thoughtless remark to children while they were singing can make them believe they cannot sing. He said, “The heart has a long memory for pain.” That statement gives me a lump in my throat. And because the heart has a very long memory for pain, we must take care, when we are making plans for programs, writing curriculum, when we are deciding what songs to sing, what books to read, what art to do, that the element of joy exists. Because learning always involves feelings, we must protect the right of all children to have a hallelujah kind of childhood.”

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