As soon as the kids saw me walking towards the school gate, they screamed my clown name: “Oshi! Oshi!” They had big news to share with me: I was in their school newspaper.
It was great excitement for them that Leepa and I (we split days as educational clowns at this school) made it into the school magazine.
Before I had time to even walk up the steps to enter the front door of the school, a girl was already pulling my hand to come meet the writer of the few sentences that had created this delight.
These kids have no idea that I’m a journalist and that my name, and sometimes my photo, is featured in the media.
But truth be told, I, too, shared in their excitement that I made it into the school magazine. For me, it means the work I do as an educational clown is meaningful – for me, and them. It means that in just a few short months, educational clowns Leepa and Oshi, have succeeded in adding a layer of fun and pleasure to the school day.
We weren’t interviewed for the school newspaper. We had no say in what was being said about us. We didn’t even get to pose for a photo (one of our selfies, which we shared with the principal, was used).
The third-grade writer wrote about how our presence makes everyone smile, that we make sure all the pupils are happy, and that her school made a winning decision in adding educational clowning to its activity.
As a giver of compliments, I shook her hands (yes, both hands), told her she made my heart warm and fuzzy with her writing, and said that I couldn’t wait to share the news with everyone. She beamed and then gave me a huge hug.
I don’t usually get hugs when my byline or photo appears in the media.
