That same night after homework, reading, baths, laundry, dishes, dinner, prayers, and clothes were set out, I sat on the couch and talked with Jesus. He reminded me of Kenya’s transition from preschool to kindergarten. His preschool years were excellent. He always had issues with containing his energy and structure, but for the most part was well behaved for a four-year-old. I never got phone calls about him fighting other children, or having issues in the form of violence.
His teacher was a grandmother figure and she would keep open communication lines with me and Kenya. She would check his negative behaviors, follow them up with consequences, and keep me informed about every step. She also saw that he was very active, so she allowed him to apply that energy by being her classroom helper, cleaning up, and leading story times. The parents also were a tight community, helping each other and working together. If a child didn’t have a jacket, other parents would bring in jackets their children could no longer fit to donate. If there was fighting in the yard, the parents would correct the children. It was a community raising and educating students.
Kenya’s first year of kindergarten was extremely different. About the third week of school, I began getting frequent calls about my son destroying classrooms. I was told that he would knock books, supplies, and desks over when he became upset. “Ms. Jones, Kenya has just done a Hulk in our classroom” were the school dean’s exact words. It was these events that birthed the activist inside of me. I found myself standing in the gap for not just my son but all of the brown, yellow, and beige students in that classroom. I would pop up weekly, unannounced, to observe the classroom and would find restless, misunderstood five-year-olds climbing on tables, talking out of turn, and poorly supervised. I began demanding one-on-ones for the students who seemed to have behavior issues. Check-ins to see where the child was at emotionally throughout the day were implemented. Asking teachers to form relationships with their students in order to gain respect was another of my suggestions. Half of Kenya’s class was not reading, so I organized a group of parents to volunteer during the afterschool program to help the classroom catch up.