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Lessons Learned from a Head Start Parent
By Cyndi Fry
There comes a time in every teacher’s career when they realize how much they truly need to learn. For me, this came when I was a home visitor for Head Start. It was my responsibility to make weekly home visits with low-income families and to offer ways to use every day household items as learning tools.
Many of the families were struggling financially and had minimal formal education. I was initially nervous about my assignment since it required me to enter high crime areas and neighborhoods. I was surprised at how quickly this no longer became an issue for me. I enjoyed working with the children and their families in such a relaxed and natural setting. I felt privileged to be welcomed into their homes.
One of the most memorable families was a young single mother named Tonya with two children, Roderick, age 4 and Benitta, age 2. I was impressed with Tonya and her parenting skills, which seemed to be so instinctive despite her young age. After only a few weeks of working with Tonya and her children, I asked her how often she read to them with the hopes of gradually increasing it. Tonya responded by saying that the children didn’t own any storybooks but only a few coloring books. I proceeded to tell Tonya how important it was to read to her children and how it could be a precursor for future learning.
I explained that children who are read to tend to be better readers and students once they enter school. By Tonya’s expression, I could tell no one had every explained this to her before. I could only imagine that she was not read to as a child herself. She seemed so deflated and saddened about not having this knowledge that I told her during my visit next week we would take a field trip to the local library and get library cards and books for the children.
The following week when I entered their apartment, ready for our trip to the library, I was greeted by Roderick. He was smiling widely and was holding an armload of books. Tonya explained to me that once she understood it was important to read to her children, she decided not to wait for me to get started. She packed up the children and took two city buses to get to the library the very next day. I was impressed by her determination and fortitude. It was evident that she hadn’t read to her children because of laziness or of choosing not to but simply because no one told her of its importance.
I thought that of everything I had done in my teaching career up to that point, this might have the greatest impact of all. After all, if Tonya now reads to her children and they in turn read to their children, a legacy of learning and reading would possibly be established for generations to come.
I initially approached my position with the belief that it was my job to be the teacher and bestow my knowledge on this family who certainly would have so much to learn. I soon realized that I was the one with all the learning to do and I was humbled by how much I learned from this family. I learned it is possible to raise a family with grace and dignity without many material things. I learned that a parent could give their children a multitude of things that cost nothing.
I learned that knowledge could be kernel-sized and still create an enormous effect with an infinite impact on lives. Lastly, I learned that as a teacher I am simply the custodian of knowledge and when it is placed in the proper hands, knowledge becomes powerful.
