Where Are You Finding Inspiration?

It was not unusual for former nursery school students at the Little Folks School where I was the Director, to return to the school as they got older to volunteer or work as a Counselor-in-Training. I wrote the following essay almost exactly five years ago after an inspiring conversation with one of my former students, Sam, who volunteered at the school for his eighth-grade community service project.

Sam's First Day March 5, 2015. I have been a teacher for a very, very long time. Specifically at the Little Folks Nursery school in Washington, DC, where I began working in 1979. It comes as a surprise even to me that I can still feel so emotional about the experience all these many years later.

Today it happened when I sat down to have a first day chat with a former student, Sam, who returned to Little Folks to do a week-long volunteer winter-break project for his eighth-grade community service. At first, we talked about how he likes his school, (he transferred there last year after a long stint at another school.) He likes it very much, mostly crediting that the kids there are nice... reinforcing what I already know about what matters most to kids.

Knowing that he had already done a week of volunteer work somewhere else as part of his winter break, I inquired about that experience.

This is when I first became a little teary… he described a week doing forestry work with his maternal grandparents in Oregon and his reasons for why it was such a positive experience…"Oregon is a special place, very beautiful," he said… "but more importantly," he stated, “I got to spend time with my grandparents who I really like a lot"!

My emotional reaction did not stop at this poignant narrative from an eighth-grade boy but continued when he went on to answer my question about how he had come to choose a week at his former nursery school as the second part of his community service.

He said he wanted to be close to home and in a place that was familiar…and that he always had such great memories of this school, mostly because he had made such good friends here.

Finally, he added that his first day here has been very interesting and a little strange. He elaborated that being here made him feel old, which he had never experienced before.

And then, when I asked him what his goals for the week were, he said that he just wants to be able to help in any way that he can. Yes, I am emotional and incredibly inspired.

March 24, 2020. I recalled the essay when I read Sam's father's article in the Washington Post, "What My Family Learned After A Year Of Social Distancing." Last April, Sam was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. His father’s beautifully written reflection on their lives for the past year provides a much needed perspective and inspiration during this challenging time.