Yesterday, I had the following conversation with a 3-year-old student at lunch time. This is proof you don't have to juggle ten kids with various disabilities to be driven crazy. One child is plenty.
(Note* We were eating chicken legs, and the 3-year-old boy was gnawing on a small bone fragment.)
Me: Please don't chew on that. It's a piece of bone, and it could poke your mouth.
Boy: This?
Me: Yes. That thing in your hand. It's not part of the chicken you can eat. It's a piece of bone.
Boy: This thing?
Me: Yes! Take it out of your mouth, please. It could make your tongue bleed. Or, if you swallowed it, you would choke...
Boy: This?
Me: YES! Take it out!
Boy: Can I have more potatoes, Miss Amanda?
Me: After you take the chicken bone out of your mouth, you can ask me for more potatoes.
(Long, thoughtful pause. Then, a big smile.)
Boy: You want me to lick it?
Me: NOOOOO!....
At this point, the conversation with the little boy ended, and I shifted my attention to yell at a coworker, who was laughing in the corner. Education will kill me yet... :)
Thats how I was when I was young and undiagnosed with ADD until later on in life gotta love it lol
ReplyDeleteAwesome! If you continue to work there you will be gray before your first child is born!
ReplyDeleteLove Ma II
That's because modern-day professionals are made to subscribe to the Little Adult theory of children which assumes that they will make reasonable choices if just given sufficient information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement, but I'm not sure it applies in this situation. See, I believe
ReplyDeletethere's a difference between speaking to a child like an adult and assuming they are one. Parents and teachers should elevate their speech and intentionally over-explain points, to "see what sticks" in the kids' brains. (I'm positive this boy will remember this, next time we have chicken, and probably ask something like, "will this poke my mouth?") Those signs of learning are rewarding for me.
But, more than once, I plainly said, "Take that out of your mouth." No choice about it. Giving a reason isn't the same as giving them a choice.