Sometimes, I have to be me. Childish. Silly. and Alive.

The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius.  ~Rebecca Pepper Sinkler


When things got crazy in a K-12 environment, I often brought out balloons to ease the minds of the students I taught. I found them to be therapeutic and up until Lauri Wade and her daughter, Jess, I never knew people who were totally petrified of balloons. They were the exception and I'm excluding them from this post.

The rest of the learning communities I've worked with have enjoyed time outs with balloons and that is what I brought to my undergraduates last night. They have been studying for Calculus examinations, dissecting eyeballs in their anatomy classes, and worried about Organic Chemistry. For a few weeks I've scolded them NOT to talk about studying for their other classes in my presence because they bring back all my angst of being a student myself. "In my class, we are to focus on writing about literature and making an argument that is original, thought-out, useful, and of interest to you."

They are working on revisions and folding in research. That is why I brought in the balloons.

I gave the students five minutes to play, but instructed them that while they kept the balloons in the air, they were also to discuss their worries about writing the second draft, reading Egger's What is the What, and pacing what has to be done to finish out their first year at Fairfield. I was very amused that they took this task seriously and spent five minutes bouncing balloons in the air while adjusting to my class goals. I wandered around and eavesdropped to get a grasp of who is struggling, who hasn't been reading (I had my suspicions and the balloon game made the suspects stand out), and who might need extra guidance. It went beautifully.

And for me...I was simply stoked to see the kids smiling and not stressing out. Yes, I'm a jerk and tough, but I'm also a big, whacky kid at heart. I simply want to play.