Kemi Aluko: Life Lessons at a Supermarket – the Tale of the Teacher and the Superhero

It was a usual Sunday afternoon, with home supplies to replenish in preparation for a busy week ahead. I was at a very huge supermarket in Lagos, and came across a mum with her 4-year old son. Boy, was he getting kicks from tearing up the place – knocking stuff off shelves and finding it funny! Mum looked so frustrated, and kept shouting at him to stop.

Immediately, I put my teacher’s cap on and went over to them and told mum to his hearing, ‘Mum, sorry to intrude, but I think you have a problem and you need a superhero to fix it!’ Thankfully, mum gave me audience so I was encouraged to continue. ‘The superhero has to push this trolley very carefully and slowly like this (*I demonstated*) and make sure the trolley doesn’t bump into any bad guys along the way or make anything fall down from the shelves, because those things can fall and hurt mummy. And whenever mummy wants to put something inside the trolley, the superhero has to check it to make sure it is good, like this (*I demonstrated and mummy who was such a good sport joined in*). ‘So I wonder who’s going to be that special superhero that’s going to save you mummy?(*searching around*)’

Immediately, the little boy jumped up, put his hand up and shouted, ‘Me! I’m the superhero! I’m the superhero!’ We let him assume his new office, and from that moment, the shopping went on quietly and smoothly. I peeped once or twice and actually saw him checking the merchandise very seriously and nodding like a quality control professor before placing it in the trolley carefully. Lol!

We met again at the till and mum asked how on earth I did what I just did. I laughed and tried to explain that it was pretty simple: I gave the little boy a purpose; I also gave him a ‘control of error’ (a kind of guidance; Montessori-trained educators will understand this) and I gave him an opportunity to boost his self-esteem. At that point, I also used the opportunity to mention my darling school, the Toddler Tree, and she promised to visit.

As I waved goodbye and went towards my car, I thought to myself, Aren’t those the things we all really crave in life; a clear purpose for our existence, some guidance/mentorship and to feel that we matter? It reinforced my age-old belief that young children are simply little people, but people nonetheless, people constructing their future from the raw materials of experiences that we adults make available to them.

See Also

‘It Is A Real Jungle…’ – Mary Njoku Laments As She Shares Her Struggles With Parenting

As both William Wordsworth and Maria Montessori said: “The child is the father of the man.” So…what raw material of experiences are you providing your children? Just some food for thought, while wishing you a great week ahead!

Fadekemi Olumide-Aluko is the owner and head of school at the Toddler Tree Nursery School & Educational Consultants, situated at 58 AdekunleFajuyi Way, GRA-Ikeja. A lawyer and Montessori Directress with a first-class Masters degree in International Educational Management from the UK, Fadekemi leads a team of passionate Montessori-trained teachers whose primary mission is “to produce happy, independent and uniquely productive children, poised to become leaders of tomorrow’s global village’. For more information, check out their Facebook page, ‘the toddler tree’ or visit their website at www.thetoddlertree.com