And the Children Shall Lead Us: Advice for Governor Hickenlooper

Governor Hickenlooper joined us here at Clayton Early Learning this month to share a birthday breakfast celebration.  The children were excited to spend time with him and to talk about what they would do if they were in his shoes.  At breakfast, the children presented the Governor with a book they had created called If I Were Governor. What strikes me most about the book that our Clayton Educare children wrote for Governor Hickenlooper, was that their ideas for leadership touched on the fundamental values of what it means to be an American.  Children have a very special way of telling the story of their own dreams, hopes and aspirations.  Though light-hearted and funny, they carry with them the same message of equality, community and opportunity that Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned for our nation.  I couldn’t begin to do the children’s voices justice, so I will share them here in their own words.

I would dance and help everybody, like those who are not happy and need my help! ~ Itiah

I would buy a school bus and give everyone free rides to school. ~ Donovan

I would make sure that all people had jobs and could move into a house.  I think we should all share bikes if you don’t have a car, I could share my own bike. ~ Trista

I would keep people safe and if people try to mess with them I would be the red Spiderman. ~ Quan’tre

I would build a school with a big, big garden, so we could grow the food and feed all the kids. ~ Veronica

I would give people free medicine. ~ Jayla

I would rescue people and be a good person. ~ Jeremiah

I will say I will help you; I will fix your house; I will give them hugs. ~ Nijaha

Make sure that all the people have good schools. Help the poor people build houses, for people that don’t have houses. ~ Kaylin

I will help people fix things if it was broken. I would also plant some plants. ~ Tiana

We could make food for all the people, not just one, but all of them. ~ Kenika

Tell people that the only thing I can’t do is nothing. ~ Avian

I am so glad that our children shared these ideas on governing.  Their words remind me that we are all leaders (even the youngest among us).  We do not have to wait until we hold a government position to take action on these dreams for our world.  We have the power within ourselves to lead change within our own communities and schools.  Avian certainly has it right when she says that, “the only thing we CAN’T do is NOTHING”.  What would the children in your life suggest to Governor Hickenlooper if given the chance?

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About Rebecca Soden

Rebecca Soden has over fifteen years of experience implementing programs for children birth to five, including Early Head Start, Head Start and Early Reading First. She is responsible for the creation and implementation of a continuous improvement model for using data to effectively plan and monitor early childhood programs within these projects. She served as the Evaluation and Continuous Improvement Manager on a 2002 Early Reading First grant and as the Project Director on a 2006 Early Reading First Grant. In her current role, she provides day to day management of projects within the Clayton Early Learning professional development department. She has a special focus on supporting evidence-based programming, including teacher-child interactions, language and literacy development, and the innovative use of technology in early childhood classrooms. Rebecca strives to develop communities of practice within ECE programs in an effort to discover what researchers and teachers can learn from each other. Rebecca has a Masters of Science Degree in Human Development and Family Studies with an emphasis in Early Childhood from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.