Recently a woman who was a student in the 1970s told me about her Hippy teachers at the time. They wore their hair long, sported long flowing skirts and ran across the playground bra-less.
Aah the ’70s.
…but what can we recall about the contributions these teachers made? Since most of these teachers were university students during the activism focussed late ’60s, they were and still are in the “system”, working either as senior teachers or as district administrators or Superintendents. During the course of their careers, some of the teachers from this era continued to encourage their students to take up causes and make a difference.
As a child of four going on five, one of these teachers used to like to play One Tin Soldier in my class. I was attracted to the story and could picture the low mountain and the village people scrambling up the hill to kill the mountain people and claim the treasure. (I thought of the height of the mountain in Irish terms.)
The lyrics contain a simple message about peace and people getting along.
A few years later I was taught, along with my classmates, to sing the song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”. I recall liking the concept that everyone in the world could join hands in peace and sing about apple trees and honey bees.
As a child I had many ideas swimming around in my head, and a fierce sense of justice. During my adult years – either as a teacher, friend or aunt – I have always tried to respect the intelligence of children while speaking with them and listening to their ideas and concerns.
