I always loved fairy-lore, folktales, Celtic legends, you name it.
And now that I've become a teacher, I find myself being submerged into
the language and ways of the little people, by which I mean children of
course, whose culture is actually no less magical than that of the other
"little people" variety.
Everyday I come home with
some story that will live on in my mind. My shoulders may be tight from
carrying heavy books around, my head may ache a little, but I've got
this new, different, bemused smile that hangs out in the corner of my
mouth. Their words and actions are constantly offering me a reminder of
the way I used to think when I was younger, and the new perspective is
quite inspiring. I've actually been dreaming more since school started.
There
are a couple things that I should probably make clear. The kids I work
with have all been diagnosed as "LD" (or having some kind of learning
disability, primarily dyslexia and/or severe ADHD). However, while they
may have a tougher time in some academic areas than the average kid,
most of these children are also extraordinarily gifted in other areas
(often very high in creative intelligence).
Secondly, my homeroom
classroom is all boys who are aged 7-10. Our class is pirate themed and I
was so happy that they really got into it. (Example: They cry "aye aye
Cap'in!" when I tell them to do something).
These guys
are so good for the imagination. The other day, instead of trying to
talk to them during lunch or keep them occupied, I just let the boys
talk while I listened. Their conversation branched off into about three,
simultaneous but interchangeable topics as they all chattered with and
around one another.As I dropped some eaves, I managed to make a little
transcription of this talk, which I'd like to share with you. I'm giving
these guys fake names just to avoid any trouble . Heck, I'll make them
fairy names (I just hope THEY never see this-I'd be in BIG trouble for
the fairy stuff).
Enjoy: :-)
Acorn:
(happily munching his potato chips and talking with his mouth full to
the folk around him) "You just don't understand guys. The alternate
reality is something that only I can see, touch, and feel. I mean, there
are guards beside me right now! Can you see them? NO, you can't."
He then licked his fingers messily in a satisfied way that seemed to indicate that his point had been well made.
Dew-drop:
"Well.....okay. Hey, our concert last night was rad, I'm just telling
you. At our next one, we're flying to Atlanta. Last time we were in
London."
Acorn: "Man, do you think I can come to one of your concerts sometime?"
Dew-drop seemed caught off guard. Meanwhile, Acorn was grinning evilly.
Dew-drop suddenly smiled and one could almost see the light bulb going off over his head : "I dunno, I guess so. You'll have to figure out how to buy a ticket from someone. That's what everyone else does."
Acorn looked lost for words. The topic was dropped.
Acorn: "Fire-bending is really difficult you know." He gave a demonstration of his technique with his hands.
Suddenly, Clover joined in: "That's not how you fire-bend, Acorn. That just looks silly. Here's how you do it!"
He jumped up and demonstrated using all his limbs (sound effects too).
I had to interrupt the fairy meeting briefly to get Clover back in his seat and eating his Crustable.
Then, Bumble, who was in the habit of day-dreaming when others were talking, seemed to snap out of it. He looked at Dew-drop.
"Do your songs have any bad words in them, Dew- Drop?"
Dew-drop's expression changed to one of intense superiority, and his voice seemed deeper when he spoke.
"Oh yeah, like two or three in every song. In London, they had to flash red lights at us to make us stop."
Bumble looked thoroughly impressed.
At
this point, I had to call the fairy council to an end because of topic
at hand as well as the fact that it was time for the little people to
pack up and get ready for keyboarding.
