My Kids Have Night Vision

They are up there in their cribs right now, 8pm, lights out, reading and reciting stories, educating themselves. Its a beautiful thing. Well, it's beautiful until 1) they start jumping up and down and screaming, or 2) 8pm becomes 9pm and they're still awake (this makes for a very ugly/cranky morning).

Anyway, this all leads to my second point - WHY DO THE DREAMS GET DEFFERED???

My daughter's daycare teacher told me today that she's recommending that Nia be put in the 4-year old class in January. Mind you, she was just skipped to the advanced 3-year old class in Sept (she turned 3 in June), but her letters, numbers, and memory skills are on point. We're working on the neat writing, but its coming.

My son, Jalen - when he will stay still - knows his letters, sounds, and can count. While he's not as verbal as Nia was at 2, he's bright in his own ways, constantly surprising me. His recall is also excellent.

Nia loves to play teacher with Jalen, getting him to recite his ABC's after her. "Very good, Jalen," she'll say. She even scolds him if he tries to jump ahead.

Jalen loves the magnetic refrigerator letters. Every day after dinner he'll turn around in his high chair and scream out "I WANT LETTER C. I WANT THE M."

When I put in one of their DVD's (Letter Factory, Blues Clues ABC, etc), they scream for joy like they've never seen it before (they've seem them 50 times... and counting).

Today, before we got out of the car, Nia asked, "Can I do my homework when we get in the house?"

So again, I ask, WHY DO THE DREAMS GET DEFFERED?

As an educator, its disheartening to see what society does to Black children. I've noticed before just how bright all of the youngsters are at daycare, not just my two, but each and every one of them. I saw it when they were infants, each grasping at different toys, recognizing me as I came to get Nia or Jalen. As toddlers, first learning to walk and say hi, smiling, showing emotion, learning how to play. And as they got older, dealing with the subtleties of conversation, changing tones, learning new words, knowing when they were in trouble, and learning how to play one adult against the other (I had no idea that this popular teenage game started so early).

These kids are born bright. I've read enough Amos Wilson and Jawanzaa Kunjufu to already know that, but seeing it firsthand is both a blessing and a curse. The world tells them, despite the talent and the thirst for knowledge, that they will never amount to anything. Sadly, somewhere around the 4th grade, and even earlier for others, they begin to believe it. We all do, to some degree. We hear of the schools they come from or the neighborhoods they live in, and we say, "oh, okay," with a little less enthusiasm as the prep school, suburban child. Nine times out of ten, expectations drive results. And once the results sink to a certain low, we're all screwed.

My child is moving ahead of the class already, and as a parent recognizing her thirst for knowledge, this is what I would expect, and what I will continue to expect. The other children are not lacking, but are in fact also doing more than other 3 year olds of various colors. They are getting it, and they want to continue to learn. We have to nurture that and ensure that it isn't swallowed up by the ways of the world, as has been the case so many times before. Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think its that difficult. The issues are multi-dimensionally complex, yes. And they will take the responsiblity of parents, educators, communities, and even pop culture. But impossible to change. Definitely not. More of our kids can, should, and will have night vision. It will happen. We will see it.