The NPL Show – A Day in the Life of Pat
Let’s look at the final product first.
Have you ever considered all the things that happen in a day in the life of a child ages zero to six? Have you ever thought that these events and situations can be the source of your true education? That these events and situations are the rich learning ground through which he learns about himself and the world around him?
We’re going to introduce our hero, Pat, throughout this series of articles, but right now I’d like to look at him as a six-year-old. Then we’ll do a Hollywood stunt called a flashback and take you back to his previous life. That’s the idea: we’ll watch it from time to time and see how it got here.
Note — To avoid the awkwardness of he/she and he/she or any other double gender notation, we will use the masculine gender for Pat. We purposely use the names Pat, Kim, and Chris because they can be male or female, so you can adjust the characters to fit your world.
A day in the life of Pat Johnson (a 6-year-old girl)
Pat is now six years old and has been a learner all his life. We’re following him for the better part of a single day. We like him a lot and we like him to be intense, involved and eager to do things and learn things. How did he get that way? Well, that’s what the rest of these articles are about. So now we’ll take a look at Pat when he was six years old and then we’ll go back, back, back to a previous life and see how Chris and Kim lived and worked with him.
Saturday morning — 10:00 AM — At the supermarket
The Johnsons are doing their weekly grocery shopping; actually, the cupboard was getting a little empty, so they decided that this time they would have to walk all the aisles of the supermarket. Kim has her shopping list and coupons ready to go. Chris is in charge of the shopping cart: his second responsibility and his most important task is to have his son, Pat, in his sight at all times. Pat is eager to help because that’s what big six year olds do.
“Okay,” says Kim, “What kind of cereal do you want this time, Pat? Crispy rice? That’s a new one. You’d better pick one of the small packets and make sure you’re going to like it.”
Chris looks at the big signs and says, “Look, the cereal is in aisle 3. I’ll walk you. See the crispy rice?” “Yeah, it’s the blue box like the one on TV. Let’s see, this is the big box and oh, here are the smaller boxes.”
“I’m making spaghetti this week, so pick up some tomato paste at the end of this aisle. Oh, it’s on sale today, buy six cans. No, not that brand, we used the kind that starts with the letter C, that’s all. The red can. Great, now are we going to have angel hair spaghetti or penne rigati macaroni? Let’s make angel hair spaghetti. Okay?”
“OK”
“If you do Italian this week, I’m going to do a Chinese stir-fry,” says Kim. “Pat, take Dad to the Chinese section and buy water chestnuts, soy sauce, and bamboo shoots. We’ll get bean sprouts and some other vegetables from the produce section.”
“I know where the Chinese food section is, Dad. Let’s go.”
In the produce section, Kim buys a ½ pound package of bean sprouts. She chooses some nice Roma tomatoes and some very nice California Navel oranges. “Pat, get me two of those plastic bags. How about these oranges? Have you ever seen a better looking orange?”
“We need a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, and a pound of butter. Here are the eggs, let’s check this carton for any cracks. They look good. Let’s put them in the cart seat section.”
Dad says, “That gallon of 2% milk is what we want; it’s pretty high up on the shelf, so I’ll bring it down for you. Here, can you take it to the cart?” “Sure. It’s very cold.”
Pat asks if she could have a new toy she saw on TV. Kim replied, “She’ll be off your assignment” and the discussion ends.
And when it comes to shopping, Mom and Dad are still talking to Pat and the conversation is full of words that are rich in color, weight, measurement, temperature, and number. There are many words that are descriptive and are always used correctly.
There is much more to Pat’s day as described in our book, The natural path to learningbut this is enough to give you an idea of what the Johnson family is.
What do we have to do to be an Expert Champion? that advocate, supporter, advocate, guide for our child/student just as the Johnsons have done and are doing?
We have to learn and carry out the correct role of Parents in this field: you and I are going to learn everything we can about how children learn and use language. We are going to help our son in his growth, become his partners. We are going to be the best possible support system for our son, so:
We will learn the skills involved in reading, writing, and spelling so that we can help our child learn them with ease and accuracy.
We will become learning partners with our son as he grows in the use of language.
We will be a role model for our child — Read books, magazines, newspapers; Use the dictionary and encyclopedia.
We will expand our child’s knowledge (and ours) with interesting experiences.
We read to our son (a lot) especially at bedtime.
We will learn the correct interaction with our son as he learns and grows in height.
We will know our son’s abilities to perform the required skills, his willingness to perform them and his emotional and psychological state when facing learning activities.
We will learn to deal assertively, competently, and lovingly with significant other adults; eg, aunts, uncles, babysitters, parents-in-law, preschool teachers; so they can become associated learning partners (or at least wait and watch).
Above all, we will be a Champion for our child, protecting him from physical and psychological abuse (including our own), constantly letting him know that we love him regardless of the results of his participation in the activity. Our love for him does not depend on how much he learns or how quickly he learns it.
In summary, we are accompanying our son in his growth so that we can assume a positive, proactive and responsible role in his growth and learning processes, to be his Champion.
Peter S. Pierro, EdD parentscoachesateam.com
