Last Friday I was reminded of the growth and mentorship I consider critical to elementary education in action.

I volunteered to be in charge of the bouncy slide activity for Cornerstone’s carnival night on Friday.
It was raining so it got moved inside.
Even in that large gym you can see in the picture that it juuust fit.

I had all ages and temperaments of students, and their younger siblings, come by with tickets to slide.
I also had everything from special needs 3rd graders and little tiny preschoolers.
Both were very slow to scale the big ladder section in the middle to get to the top.
Each time I had one I tried to keep the smaller kids waiting so they wouldn’t push past them.
But I also looked for a big kid in line.
I discovered that any 3rd or 4th grader in line could reliably pull aside quickly and quietly asked to help the struggling child if needed.
This happened more than half a dozen times with no refusals and with understood dedication.

Each time, the big kids not only helped but they helped without helping too much.
They were suddenly transformed into a guardian that was right behind their charge, shielding them from more hyper children, patiently allowing them to climb at their own speed unless they got stuck.

That is the kind of learning and growing I have seen with the 3rd and 4th graders at Cornerstone.
It is not the first time.
The older kids go and read to the younger ones sometimes, that is a teacher initiative.
During field day two years ago the big kids were put in charge of the younger kids in their group and faithfully escorted them from station to station without adult supervision in transit.
When the final whistle blew they tackled the equipment of whatever station they were at and rushed it to the gym doors to be put away.
I didn’t see a single station where the adults got to help with anything.
It left several of us sort of shocked.

How do they get this way?
It takes everyone from the administration to the teachers to the kids seeing their peers.
But it also happens naturally.
At the Board of Education meeting in March honored Mason Miller, a 4th grader at Parkview.
He was honored because he volunteered to go to the Kindergarten class to read to them, help them put on their backpacks, and then help his teachers with bus duty.

My personal concern is: I don’t know if this happens if the big kids do not go to school in the same building as the little kids.
This, and the future shape of the district, worries me.
I think that this growth and mentorship cannot be allowed to disappear.