James King mentioned to me at the 1992 reunion that he was thinking of assembling a collection of written pieces from ex-Caldecott children on what they had thought of life when at Caldecott and I agreed to write something. Possibly I might have written a bit differently in 2022.
Random Thoughts on the Caldecott Community
3. Academy of Human Relations
Life in a community is about communicating and understanding. We were all good at English when we went out to secondary schools, even those in lower grade classes. Having lived together, we already knew about social interaction and role fulfilment. We were bound to be better at group dynamics than local children that lived only with their families. At Caldecott we had the opportunity to converse with our peers all day and every day, except when we went off on holidays (which gave us more to talk about when we got back). We could bounce ideas off our friends, pass on jokes and songs, see how much we could get away with when dealing with adults and study their strange idiosyncrasies. We were always performing our lines before other boys and girls, following examples set by older kids and presenting our own standards for youngsters to measure up for their performances. When I became more mature, I was sometimes wise enough to learn from my juniors.
You have to make allowances for children. They can be childish. They can infuriate, disappoint and sadden. On the other hand, they have an endless capacity to shine and make it all worthwhile. I was often surprised and impressed by the intelligence, wisdom, courage and kindness of others. There were even times when I amazed myself in discovering that some good quality must have crept into me when I had not been looking and then manifested itself unexpectedly.
GTM