From Baby Cub to Cub to Lone Wolf- Part 1

That’s how I think about my own learning journey as a child. And this is how I reflect upon my 3-year-old’s learning journey.

I’m fully aware that everyone has their own experiences when it comes to their learning journey (what I mean by this is from the age of 4 to the age of 18), but these are my views. Feel free to share yours in a respectful manner. Please note that as I talk, I am not placing judgment on anyone. I am merely expressing my thoughts and discussing my experiences.

The Baby Cub

As babies, we are fully reliant on others to take good care of us. Some of us have a father and a mother who care for us. Some of us do not. As babies, we are fully vulnerable and in need of love, nourishment, and support. That’s how I picture myself as a 5-year-old entering Year 1 (that is when I started my learning journey in the UK). Born in London but raised in Sicily for five years, that is when my parents decided to put me into a state primary school. It was the school convenient for them — nothing more, nothing less. I would say it was an okay school — definitely not the best and definitely not great. It was a school where I went to be looked after whilst my parents had to work.

I had one great teacher — Miss Brown. I remember her well. She is the only one I remember. She was sweet, always smiling, and she gave me tonnes of attention. The rest of my memories are filled with badly behaved children, and the teachers’ attention needed to be given to them. I was always a very quiet and shy little girl. But as I reflect now, as a 40-year-old woman, I realise I had to be that way. There was no other way. The other children were louder than me and chose not to behave well. They chose not to listen to the teachers or be kind and caring to either teachers or other children. I had to be quiet because I had no one at school who really paid that much attention to me. I did learn because I wanted to learn. I listened and I learned. The teaching was okay — not exceptional.

When I think about my son (who will be four in September), I know that I want my baby cub to have a far better experience (age 4–11). I want him to have a learning experience where he is fully nurtured and feels deeply cared for. As a teacher who has worked in schools across the country for 15 years, I know that this will be difficult for me to achieve. There is nothing wrong with schools at all — it’s far more complex than that. If you’ve been in the system, you will know what I mean. If you haven’t, then you won’t.

Read Part 2 to learn more about The Cub.