I can’t seem to stop thinking about the article in the New York Times earlier this week: A Class Field Trip to a Parking Garage? For Some Children, It Can Be Valuable.
Recognizing that many of the school’s children don’t have the personal experiences to understand basic cultural references in their school work, teachers have been taking children on field trips to, for example, an auto repair shop and a parking garage. For many of the students this is the first time they’ve sat in a car, or considered what “parking” is. Or even contemplated what the sign “No Standing” means.
The article has stuck with me, not because it was news that some children start off with significant challenges, but because it never fails to astonish me how different our frames of reference are. Those kids might not get parking, but I can’t imagine the things they do get. And for further evidence, check out this beautiful photoessay on where children sleep.
In a (temporary and unusual) move for cynical me, today, instead of being overwhelmed at the gulf of differences and weight of impoverishment, I’m going to be amazed by and grateful for the creative, thoughtful teachers that are organizing field trips to the sidewalk.