After the closure of my closed preschool I began working in the school district and with a corporate child care agency in the San Francisco Bay area. What I learned was awesome.
I was assigned to an after-school program in a suburb of wealth in Danville, California. (Black Hawk), where each house in the neighborhood sold over a million people, long before the fall in the economy.
The children were bright and very cautious about new students in their “After School” program. Some of them were placed there because their parents did not trust them to be left alone after school. It was safer for children to stay in a controlled environment and not to be unattended in the afternoon.
These young adolescents were extremely territorial and questioned the authority very discretely. Their reaction to me was no different. Little did they know, or maybe so, I also worked in Oakland, California, where territorial problems might have put you in a hospital or worse. I knew how to stay away from the road and respect the invisible territorial lines.
I cannot prove it, however, I am sure that one or two of the parents removed my car license plate and attacked me. (Because of the rumor, conversation) These parents were vice-presidents, financial director and top management at large corporations in San Francisco. Anyway, I was allowed to return. But please know that their parents authorized them, this does not mean that the children let me go.
What I continued to see again and again was a closed society where no one except children allowed, and adults whom they fully trusted. Parents have never under any circumstances been allowed into a secret society after school.
I spent a lot of time watching and watching what I saw. There was a factual way in which older children created, or it was created for them, which was in agreement with the primary and their parents, but separate.
I might add that the parents did not have a clue, or maybe they knew, and just wanted to respect the child’s secret.
These children were sharp and had no problems with thinking things or pre-planning. Of course, when their parents appeared to pick them up, they turned into perfect corners and asked to go to McDonald's!
Another action that happened was when their parents appeared, the children completely ignored me. They will act as if I was not there. At first it hurt my feelings a little, then I realized that I was allowed into the society, but had no rights.
The last thing I want to do is destroy the trust that these children have with me. (Including children in the San Francisco peninsula and in the county of Contra Costa) After I stayed with children for more than four years, I understand what concerns me.
Do you know the old saying that you cannot see a forest for trees? This statement applies to my work with children. I could not see where the children were going until I came out of this industry.
For my students who graduated from my pre-school institutions and the children I meet while working as a teacher’s deputy, I say: “Keep in mind your every thought. If you have a strong desire to take or experiment with illegal substances, talk to your parents, determine where your thoughts come from, and eliminate the source.
Please forgive me if you feel that I betrayed your trust in any way. You know, I care about you, and you know that I will worry about what you can do for Social Security as soon as you start voting.
