Editorial: On behalf of children

Conclusion

When you think about it, many of the things we do are expressly designed to maintain a sense of wonder because once it is lost, childhood is lost. I still vividly recall a class discussion with one of my teachers about the existence of Santa Claus when I was 10 years old. By that time, nobody in the class was a believer. Sister Christopher told us that she still believed in Santa until she was 13. When we asked her how she could have been so gullible, she said that just about the time she was beginning to question the myth, her father (she later found out) climbed up on the roof in the middle of the night to make “reindeer tracks” and lines from the runners of the sleigh. Now that was a man who really wanted to keep the wonder alive!

If you reflect on all of the people you know and love, I'll wager that most of them are individuals who have managed to keep some sense of awe intact despite its erosion throughout life. Early childhood practitioners are fortunate because we have the best possible role models of wonder to follow. Being in the company of young children whose sense of wonder is at a lifetime high helps to keep us from becoming jaded and disaffected. For if we allow children to show us the way, they can lead us back to wonder.