I think the saying “Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten” should be changed to first grade. Today, because of recent cuts in staffing at our elementary school, I was able to spend the entire first day of first grade with my son as the co-teacher for his class. There were many things to learn. The first being, “wait your turn to talk and raise your hand if you have something to say.” This is so important throughout life. How many times are you simply waiting for someone else to stop talking before you can say something or worse, how many times have you simply interrupted in the excitement or anxiety of the moment? This is really about listening. We can all learn how to do that better, no matter how good we think we are at it.
The second lesson is, “Take good care of your stuff and keep it organized.” In first grade, the students all have their own desks, which is not the case in kindergarten, where they are situated at large tables, and they all share containers of crayons and other supplies. Now, they are allowed to keep their own personal things such as scissors, glue sticks, pencils, crayons, and work inside when they are not using them, but already today, many students lost track of their work or their pencil because they set it on their desk, and it fell off when they raised up the top to get something else out from inside. This is another good life lesson. How often do you forget where you put your keys or a certain pair of shoes, or some other essential item that you need right before you leave the house to get to work, and it makes you late because of your poor organization skills? How often do you lose that one important paper in the midst of all the other papers piling up on your desk when it’s time for taxes or school registration or that important meeting, and so on and so forth? As an organizational freak, I think you can never stop learning and improving when it comes to organization.
The third first grade life lesson is, “Crying is not going to solve your problem.” When it’s over, it’s over. You can’t change it. Maybe you did not have time to complete that task or coloring job exactly the way you wanted to or you picked the wrong way to address a difficult situation, but crying over it is not going to help. Moving on and diving into the next task with the right attitude is the only thing you can do sometimes, and that’s okay.
The fourth and final lesson is, “Sitting next to your best friend is not always the best choice when it’s time to listen and get to work.” Isn’t this so true in life as well? Personally, it always takes me ten times longer to get even mundane tasks done if I am trying to do them while talking to a friend on the phone or even visiting in person. Best friends who work together often proves disastrous for the friendship. I’m not saying it can’t be done as it can for some, but this lesson is more about being aware of what you can and can’t handle before you make it harder on yourself. If you know you won’t be able to concentrate on studying for that important work related certification test with your best friend because you’ll start gossiping or watching your favorite TV show together, then don’t plan to study with him or her. Make it easier on yourself, not harder.
In just one day in first grade, I watched students begin to learn these four lessons, including my son, who is currently learning the last one, and they will continue to learn them throughout the year because first grade is for the big boys and girls, so to speak. In kindergarten, you are still babied to a certain extent. The kids still have snacks and naps, and share tables together and are not responsible totally for their own stuff, but in first grade, they are just like everyone else at the elementary school. This means the lessons above have a lot to do with growing up and maturing, and they are lessons we are should be reminded of now and again, don’t you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment