In Waldorf education (and i'm sure other forms, i hope this view is not exclusive to Waldorf,) it is understood that the task of the kindergarten educator is the most demanding of all. The reason for this is that the teacher, (and i'm sure this applies to the next few grades as well,) must embody her teachings more than just teaching them. While children may be simple their powers of perception are amongst the strongest of any living being. While their inner worlds of thought may be undeveloped it leaves much room for engagement in the external world and as a consequence they have almost psychic abilities in terms of being able to read the thoughts and emotional states of the people in their midst. In our training we are taught to be highly guarded in our reactions to the children as their sensitivity is so extreme, especially in the case of emotionally damaged children. If even the slightest flicker of displeasure flits through my mind i can see it on the face of the child i am addressing, even if i am trying my hardest to maintain composure (and for those of you who know me, i'm kind of a laid-back person). As a tool for self-reflection, children are amazing. They will give back just what you give to them, if you know how to read it.

Equally, we must approach each individual child in every day bearing in mind that in the twelve hours since we've last seen them they may have experienced considerable trauma that they may not be able to articulate in their underdeveloped tongues. Earlier this week the children from a particular family seemed to have an unusual amount of moodiness and meltdowns. While children do have their days, we would later come to find out the previous night all of them witnessed their older sister attacking their stepfather. It is frequent that the children may spend several nights in a row in different houses or miss meals. For those below the age of six who are struggling to understand whether or not the world is a safe and secure place, this can be very unsettling. While at first glance the children appear relatively average - all doing the universal dance of youth with their shrieks and games and mini-crises, they are all holding in their little beings the weight of an often unforgiving world, waiting for a chance to heal.

To supplement this understanding of the children we have weekly meetings and continuing education pieces that keep us up to date on family histories, dealing with trauma, child development, nutrition, schedules and related topics. As needed we are given progress reports on individual children and asked to report progress that we have observed. The end result of all of this is a continuously vigilant program that pays close attention to each child and updates how s/he is worked with according to his/her needs at a given time. At the helm of this is Carol, who with her years of experience in education ranging from public school to Montessori to Waldorf education and beyond she provides a lucid, thoughtful outlook on the work. In addition she meets every other week with each intern in order to assess personal progress and assist with individual challenges/concerns.

For an aspiring counselor such as myself, Carol is a priceless resource in an equally incredible work environment. Her genuine commitment to the work, insuring that each person on the team is given the resources to provide the best quality care within their capacities is an opportunity almost tantamount to apprencticeship. Due to the complexities of the work, much of our training must needs be 'on the job'. This can be powerful when the 'job' is so very delicate. While mistakes are unavoidable, one must try extra hard to avoid them and strive never to repeat them. All in all however, at the end of the day when the last enthusiastic little hand has waved goodbye to you and toddled off into the sunset, it really often feels like we're just playin' with kids.