Mourning a School

L-- graduated from preschool this afternoon, with a beautiful ceremony. Each of the 17 kids in her class, 2 to 5 years old, sat quietly. They wore pretty dresses and nice shirts, sitting on brightly colored Ikea patio chairs. They sat still and listened quietly to their teacher, as Mrs. Leary talked about what they had learned over the year. How they had learned to write their names and about volcanos and atoms, but how they had also learned to be kind, to compromise, to be good listeners, and to be good friends to each other. And because of that, she is very proud of each of them. She called them each by name, and they came up to receive a bouquet of flowers, have their photo taken with Mrs. Leary, and take their Yearbook.

Can you imagine? A yearbook for a preschool?

The Wonder Center called for a yearbook.

This preschool was only open one and a half years. This preschool only had 19 students this year, and only a few additions the half year previous. And as such, this school was a microcosm of the expatriate community in Shanghai. People move quickly, and only stay in your life for a short time. Foreigners struggle to succeed in China, and projects are often foiled by the simplest things.

This school had 5 teachers at any one time, but closer to 10 over its lifetime. And each of them were amazing.

Lu lao shi (teacher Lu) and Miss Yuko were the Chinese teachers, who spoke exclusively to the children in Mandarin. They taught Chinese songs, which my girls love to sing - and which bring such wonderful expressions from the people we pass on the sidewalk. They took on the challenge of speaking only Mandarin to a classroom of preschoolers who all spoke English, many as their second language. None of the children spoke more than cursory Mandarin, and Miss Yuko and Lu lao shi worked patiently and kindly to communicate as loving teachers.

Eveline and Fiona were the art teachers. But not hired as teachers, each was hired as an artist. Eveline has trailed her husband as a spouse for over a decade, and has found paints and canvas at each destination. She sat in the circle of children with a book of Rembrandt’s paintings and discussed self-portraits. Then she gave the children brushes, paint and canvas and worked patiently with them over days and weeks to watch them create their (recognizable!) self-portraits.

Eveline moved back to Holland in the middle of the year, and Fiona took over. Fiona is a graphic artist from Australia, and only had the chance to teach for 6 weeks, but quickly earned a workable comfort level with the children to help them create. Her artistry created a beautiful yearbook.

Miss Julie is an early childhood educator from Omaha, who began the school year with a baby in her belly. She taught with her son in the class, which made the year challenging for both of them, but also made her easily accessible to these students. I once asked L-- to list her teachers, and she forgot to list Miss Julie. When I asked about her, she said that Miss Julie’s not a teacher, she’s just a Mom. Miss Julie is a wonderful teacher, whose simple lessons on reading and writing kept L-- mesmerized and who could confidently bake a load of bread with 5 little helpers. When L-- first started school as a terrified little 3 year old, Miss Julie held her hand, held her on her lap, and carried her through the school until she became comfortable exploring on her own. Miss Julie’s baby eventually came out of her belly, and she and baby Sam spent less time in the school.

Miss Jinah took over as the second teacher. She paid close attention to each child, and could always have a detailed discussion about their individual learning style, their struggles for that day, and their closest friends at the moment. She learned how to teach at the Wonder Center, as she had student taught there a year ago. Miss Jinah is a natural with a rowdy group of children, often being the one to spark the water fights and the games of tag. But she is also one to get close to a child, always holding one on her lap during quiet moments.

Each of these teachers were amazing, and each of them loved our children. The high ratio of teachers to children must have made the school an amazing place to teach, but certainly made it an amazing place to safely be a young child.

Each of these teachers were awesome, but the Wonder Center was nothing without Mrs. Leary. Mrs. Leary must have been born to run a preschool. But having lived a non-traditional life as the child of an American diplomat, Mrs. Leary was born to run a non-traditional school and to be a non-traditional preschool teacher. She wore short skirts and served wine in the school after-hours. Her school was based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy, an education philosophy based on building respect, responsibility and community in young children through allowing them to explore and discover the world around them, placing them in rich and supportive environments and basing the self-guided curriculum on the interests of the children. Mrs. Leary ran everything in the school, creating songs for the children, math projects based on super heroes, and multiple science lessons on atoms, just because it so captured the imaginations of the kids. She created a whimsical play area inside and outside of the school, deemed a nearby park The Magic Forest, and sometimes let the children jump on her trampoline. She taught preschoolers to “use their language” to solve problems, and never allowed tattling. She would walk away from a conflict, telling the children she looked forward to hearing their compromise upon her return. She never called a piece of art beautiful. She knew that beauty is not always the point of art. Rather she discussed each piece with the artist and their friends, pointing out her love of the color choice, or what the painting resembled. She picked up frogs and grasshoppers. She walked around with a camera in her pocket at all times, and she took an amazing number of photos - the glossy, 80-page yearbook if full of incredible pictures of my child and her friends. Each of our children are lucky to have known Mrs. Leary.

She taught them to be writers;

to be artists;

to be learners;

to be explorers;

to be good friends.

She loved each of these children, and she loved the school.

The Wonder Center closed this afternoon, and I can’t even re-read that without crying. Because these teachers and this place had such a wonderful impact on my daughter - a child who loves to learn, but really fears new people - a child who began school as a terrified introvert but can no longer be described by either word. Because this place had a beautiful impact on our whole family. School ended at 1:00 every afternoon, and often the parents and children would not leave the grounds until nearly 2:00. S-- and I were welcomed into the school community every afternoon, and she grew as a confident child ready to start school on her own soon. And I joined an amazing community of women, parents who sought out such a school in such a city. Too many of these families move away within the next week. And the schools doors are permanently closed. This community is finished. And equal parts for L--, S-- and myself, my heart is broken.