When five-year-old Easton Blocker was told that his elementary school was holding a special "Dress As Your Favorite Person Day," he faced the kind of question that can reveal a surprising amount about a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who was his favorite person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many kindergarteners, the answer might have been a superhero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spider-Man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Batman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Captain America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe a famous athlete, a movie star, or a character from a favorite television show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Easton didn't need much time to think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His hero wasn't someone he watched on a screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was someone Easton saw at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His name was Jeffery Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And he was the school's security officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March 2020, Easton arrived at Bobby G. Lester Elementary School in Jacksonville, Arkansas, wearing a bright yellow shirt designed to resemble Cross's security uniform. Across the back were two words that perfectly captured the occasion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
"Junior Security."<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standing beside him was Cross himself, dressed in the uniform Easton had wanted to imitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resulting photographs were simple: a kindergartner standing proudly next to a school employee he admired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the story behind those photographs touched people far beyond their school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn't really about a costume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was about the way children recognize the people who make them feel protected, welcomed and cared for\u2014even when those adults don't realize how important their everyday actions have become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Easton Already Knew His Answer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to reporting from Good Morning America, the decision had been Easton's from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His mother, Lauryn Blocker, explained that her son had developed a strong attachment to Officer Cross from the start of the school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Easton considered Cross not only a hero but also a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
"He will tell you, 'That's my best friend!'" Lauryn told Good Morning America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That relationship made Easton's choice for Favorite Person Day surprisingly easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no debate about which fictional hero he wanted to imitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wanted to look like Officer Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lauryn understood immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She bought her son a yellow T-shirt and added vinyl lettering so that his outfit resembled Cross's yellow-and-black security uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The finishing touch was the message on the back:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
"Junior Security."<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It transformed a simple yellow shirt into something Easton could wear with enormous pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For an adult, it might have looked like a homemade school costume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Easton, it represented the person he looked forward to seeing every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Man at the School Door<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand why Easton admired Cross so much, it helps to consider how children experience school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For adults, school security may be discussed in terms of procedures, policies and responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A five-year-old sees things differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He sees faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He remembers who smiles at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He remembers who speaks to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He remembers who makes him feel comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And he remembers who tells him that he is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross had joined the school's security staff during that academic year. According to Good Morning America, he said Easton had approached him from the first day of school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The little boy would hug him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross remembered Easton as energetic, affectionate and full of personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their interactions became part of Easton's daily routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What might have seemed like a small moment to an adult\u2014a greeting in the morning, a conversation in the hallway, a reassuring presence\u2014could mean much more to a young child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lauryn told reporters that her son regularly talked about Cross at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In coverage carried by local and national outlets, she recalled Easton telling her that Officer Cross protected the students from "the bad guys."<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That detail is important because it explains why Cross occupied such a special place in Easton's imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Easton didn't admire him because he was famous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He admired him because he associated Cross with safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Different Kind of Hero<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Children are surrounded by fictional heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They watch characters who fly through the sky, save cities and defeat villains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those stories can be exciting and meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Easton's choice illustrated another kind of heroism\u2014the kind that can be found in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cross didn't have a cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were no movie cameras following him through the hallways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wasn't famous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was simply doing his job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When five-year-old Easton Blocker was told that his elementary school was holding a special “Dress As Your Favorite Person Day,” he faced the kind of question that can reveal a surprising amount about a child.<\/p>\n
Who was his favorite person?<\/p>\n
For many kindergarteners, the answer\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nulnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}