Through this observation there was some confusion as to why the parent would allow the child to bring a poptart from home, but not allow him to eat it on the way to school. Instead he was brought into the classroom upset, and she knew the reason why, but did not offer it to him once he was in the room. It took the initiative of an adult to listen to the child (Stephenson, 2009).
In this observation I felt like the child was trying to communicate with his mother, but the mother was not taking the opportunity to talk to her son about what was going on. The child wanted someone to pay attention to him, and he was being ignored until the teacher in his class asked him what was wrong. "Teachers' words and the way they use them create meaning for children as well as for themselves" (Dangel & Durden, 2010, p. 75).
I think that it would have been better if the parent spent a couple of minutes talking to her son about why he was upset. Him being upset about his poptart might not have been the only reason that he was upset. There could have been things at home that had taken place, that was upsetting to him and the poptart was the middle ground for the situation.
Dangel, J. R., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The Nature
of Teacher Talk during Small Group Activities. Young Children, 74-81.
Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a
2-Year-Old. Young Children, 90-95.
This sort of thing use to happen in my family home setting all of the time. I try and encourage the parents not to bring food to my home unless it is a special occasion. The parent was probably in a rush. At the same time she could of eliminated the morning drama if she would of let the child eat in the car or did not allow him to leave the house with the poptart. Enjoyed your post
ReplyDeleteDeborah Wright
Hi Jessy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. It was a great example of how sometimes adults have an agenda and must rush through life, often forgetting that sometimes patience is needed. I'm certainly not trying to place blame on the mother, but simply stating that we all sometimes do this, even the best of us. Just as talking to a child is important, listening is as well. Thanks for sharing your story!
-Krissy
Hello Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYou did a well job of your observation. I like the way the teacher made a compromise with the boy and allowed him to eat one pop-tart a save the other for after school. I agree with that it was some confusion going on in your observation and the parent could have spent a couple of minutes talking to her son about why he was upset. Thanks for sharing!
LaCasa
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very interesting. I have asked the wuestion a few times myself "why do parents do the things they do?" I think that it was crazy to allow the child to bring the poptart, but then tell him no and walk away from the child as though nothing has happened. Thank goodness for the in tuned teacher for stepping in, if not the child's entire day could have been affected by this one moment. As parents we set the tone for our child's entire day. I always make sure I talk to my son on the way to school. We talk about what he thinks he will expect for the day, how he's feeling and if there is anything we should address. These five to ten minutes of conversation each morning helps my son with being aware and conscience of himself as an individual and in school. Any issues are addressed and I give him love and support as he leave the car.