A new school year has a lot that comes along with it. A few new outfits, new sneakers and freshly trimmed hair. The choosing of a new backpack and lunch box more suitable to an increased maturity level and new favorite characters.
Of seemingly less importance to my daughter are the new classmates, teacher and entirely different school than they one she attended last year but my wife and I still indulged our own curiosity and took advantage of last week’s “open house” opportunity to meet the newest facilitator of her intellectual development.
It was also an opportunity to snoop around and see for myself the “time out area” that I had recently become aware of. Not a traditional chair in the corner where a a student would be sent as a punitive response to poor or disruptive behavior, this is an area of the classroom where kids can voluntarily go and relax if they are feeling overwhelmed or upset until they feel that they are emotionally ready to continue.
A week later I still have no real idea about how I feel about the concept.
On one hand it seems like a reasonable acknowledgement that small children lack the emotional maturity to properly process their feelings sometimes. Most parents quickly realize that bad behavior or tantrums often have identifiable precipitating factors and that recognizing these can be a more effective way of discouraging recidivism than punishment. Teaching coping mechanisms such as breathing techniques or counting to five is helpful but even as a grown man there are times when I need to walk away from a situation until I calm my ass down a bit. There are many occasions at work when I would love to have a comfy little corner nook to go lie down in for a few minutes until I’m ready to be around people again.
I would love to but I can’t, and I’m not aware of any other employers that offer this option either. I’m not suggesting that second grade is a place to begin preparing our children for the harsh realities of the workforce and am not one of those that thinks that this country is going to hell because of all the sissy snowflakes, but I do think that a lack of emphasis on personal responsibility is to blame for a lot of entitled brats making excuses for themselves. Learning self control and being able to fulfill responsibilities even at times when we might not feel like it are important tools that school helps to teach.
They are also tools that every child is going to develop at different paces and I’ve noticed myself that the maturity levels of seven year olds can vary widely. With limited resources and larger class sizes I can see the benefit to a child excusing themselves to the corner instead of potentially disrupting the rest of the students.
I just can’t help but wonder if this is really doing that child any benefit or just the rest of the class?
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Previously Published on thirstydaddy.com
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internal image courtesy of author