So I have been working at a local museum for the past 2 weeks. They run a field trip called Sheep to Shawl and I run the weaving station. Its a lot of fun and neat to introduce kids to weaving. Something i noticed this year has me pretty bummed though. the past years nearly every teacher would have their kids say thank you before they left and moved onto the next station. this year maybe two or three teachers had their students say thank you. At the same time, its been hard to tell who is the teacher in the room if there is more than 3 parent chaperones! And its not because the parents are taking charge either! I would love to say its because the teachers are getting younger or older or male or female but I think its something else entirely. A lack of empathy and consideration for others is running rampant throughout our society. OK that was quite a jump; they dont say thank you and now society is running amok. but the kids do a lot of pushing and shoving and their teachers arent teaching the tools to resolve the issues. “I cant see” was a common theme the past 2 weeks. Now it would seem to me that if I had a roomful of kindergarteners or 1st graders I would have already taught them that the tall kids go in back and the shorter ones go in front when we gather around something. I mean DUH! nope these kids are forced to push and shove their way to sight range and i know cuz i got pushed by a few of these little darlings. of course its not just the teachers fault…going back to that loss of empathy train of thought…My husband, daughter and i were up at an outdoor expo in Saratoga recently and we were waiting in line for her to have a turn in the kayak pool. And this Dad pushes his son in front of my daughter so he snags the last life vest available that turn and then pushes him in front of all the kids waiting to enter the pool so he’s first. THEN the Dad turns around and high fives his wife. I didnt say anything because seriously what do you say to someone that ignorant and so full of himself that he and his family is more important than anyone else? Dont worry i have advocated for my daughter plenty of times…i just pick my battles and this wasnt worth my time or aggravation. He wasnt going to get it. So, long and short of it.. there’s a lot of pushing and shoving going on out there among both the young and old. try and make sure you’re not doing the pushing and shoving and if you do see it happen turn it in to a lesson. tall folks in back and short ones in front THen EVERYONE sees! We’re all in this together and its way more fun if we’re nice to each other!
