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I used to think that I couldn't stand children. They were annoying and gross, they should be seen and not heard. I didn't much like other kids when I was one; I preferred hangin' with the Olds. So, it was as surprising to me as it was to anyone else when, six years ago, I made a career pivot to work as a children's librarian. Honestly, the move was more of an act of desperation to get away from a gnarly workplace sexual harassment sitch than it was a change of heart. I just needed to change my job. The change of heart came later.
I always had this idea stuck in my head that kids had nothing interesting to say. They were just empty flesh sacks that needed to be filled with knowledge about how to navigate the world. The kids who were especially rotten had been filled with the wrong sorts of knowledge; their parents were to blame. What was wrong with those parents, by the way?
And look, none of this is rational and none of it is flattering to me. And I still don't want any sticky, loud, tiny humans in my actual home, but boy was I wrong about them! Kids, many of them at least, are delightful! They are hilarious! Their minds work in ways that fascinate and frustrate me in equal measure.
And those kids that suck? The ones that teachers warn you about? The ones no other kid wants to sit near? Well, that's more of a mystery to me than it ever was. Sometimes you meet the parents and it's clear - the kids are a chip off the crusty ol' block, and it's up to you and your fellow educators to try to be a positive force in the kid's life. Other times, the parents are trying their damndest and are as baffled as anyone by their kid's behavior.
Life is a rich tapestry - one that kids sometimes stain with Kool-Aid or try to unravel, but other times they add to it in unexpected and wonderful ways.
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