The Day the Crayons Fell

I signed up for Vocal last year with all intentions of putting out content that (hopefully) people would want to read. My plan was to write on a regular basis and share life in a small town in the San Juan Mountains. Or just my opinion in general.

But life, as you know, happens. And even the list of possible entries fell by the wayside as I dealt with two kids in middle school and a new job as an assistant cook in the elementary school here in Pagosa Springs.

My formal training is to be a secondary English teacher, meaning middle school and high school classroom. The 25 year journey from then to now is a long one I won't get into here, but for now let's just say that through volunteer work I witnessed and explored many aspects of the school and the kitchen and cafeteria were the only parts of the school I had not learned yet. I was both excited and humbled to be at that place.

After serving in the cafeteria I collected several stories in my head, not all of them survived my busy brain. But here is one that I will remember always.

My favorite part of the job was serving breakfast. With COVID regulations still in place for most of the year we made cold breakfasts (milk, juice, and some pre-packaged pastry or cereal) in a brown paper bag and handed them to the students outside as they arrived from their busses from all over Archuleta County (and some from New Mexico) or parent's vehicles. I had the students who came to me trained to get in a line so everyone could get a breakfast who wanted one and it also allowed me to get to know some of them before they headed into the building.

One particular day after the line went down one little kindergartener came running off of the bus to get his breakfast. He had a big smile on his face and his backpack was wide open.

Sadly, he tripped and all of his loose crayons and other items in the backpack went flying all over the place. His smile went to tears in an instant and I rushed over to see if he was okay.

And the thing that put a smile on my face was that I was not the only one who rushed over to help.

About six or seven children from several different grades stopped and picked up the things that flown out of his backpack. They handed them to one older student who put them back where they belonged and zipped it up for him.

No one was in too much of a hurry to get their own breakfast. No one too focused on just getting to their own classroom and ignored the child on the sidewalk.

Now, this mountain town school district itself is a mix of Mexican, Native American, and Caucasian with a dash of African American included. The boy himself was probably Mexican, but thankfully they are taught that it doesn't matter. Kids sit with their "friends", not groupings, at lunchtime. And kids of all backgrounds take the time to look out for the kid who is down and hurt. This is not the only moment I witnessed it. (They also equally tattle on each other as children do, but it is about the person, not the background.)

The motto of the school is Care Reigns Here. The principal talked over the morning announcements about things like integrity (doing the right thing when no one is looking) and kindness (helping a fellow student or teacher just because it is the right thing to do). Curriculum is based on the basics of reading, writing, math, and doing your own personal best with a positive attitude. And that message moves on with the students.

The school district as a whole spends a lot of time gaining grants to make sure that students can get the help they need physically, educationally, and socially. They also still have physical education and recess/outside time at the elementary and middle school levels, and other grants cover equipment so the kids can learn to ride bicycles, go snowshoeing and cross country skiing and spend time outside learning about the world around them. My kids have gone on field trips and camping trips and all over the area to broaden their horizons at no cost to families. And we are one of the "poorest" districts in the state.

I am blessed that my kids are going through public school here. Because the results of these actions of allowing Care to Reign is that the kids are taught to care and grow organically. They are shown through modeling by the teachers and staff what caring looks like so they can make a difference in each other's lives. It is possible to raise kind kids.

Yes, there is still bullying because people are who they are. But I hear less horror stories now than I did five years ago.

Instead I can tell the story of the kid whose crayons went flying and others came to his rescue to pick them up.