Chapter 85.2: A Song in My Heart and Head (in Praise of Teachers)

I try not to write too much here about my kids, but lately their music has meandered through my brain a lot. Silly songs, educational songs, songs that should never be played to anyone over the age of three...

But as my girls graduated from the Baby Einstein videos to Sesame Street and Barney, I noticed something shocking: I knew some of these songs! Sure, there were standards like The People in Your Neighborhood and Rubber Ducky. But there was also one about lady bugs that I'd completely forgotten about.

I asked a co-worker what shows she remembered from her childhood. She was born to one of those families that didn't believe in television for many years, so she hadn't seen too much. But as she thought about it, she remembered seeing Barney. To this day, she said, she hums a song about cleaning up as she washes the dishes.

I've always had a thing for songs and song lyrics. I've entertained/pissed off people by singing the lyrics to a shortlived show from the late '70s called Hello Larry, which starred McLean Stevenson, after he left MASH. Long after I composed songs in my head as I walked to school as a kindergartner, I would find music offered me the first entree to a world of creativity.

It pains me to see the arts decimated in public education. I hate to hear about teachers losing their jobs or ridiculed by people who've never tried to teach that they get paid too much. Teaching children is perhaps the most important job in the world. Those that do it should be continually trained to do it better, and classrooms should be kept at relatively small sizes so that children receive the attention they need and deserve — which means that more teachers are necessary.

I know people will disagree with me. I've heard the arguments. Sometimes, those people make excellent points. But if it weren't for my parents and my teachers, I'd not have been able to succeed in the ways that I have.