This Means YOU
Saw a couple of things today which got me thinking.
I work in a daycare which is in a school building. This morning I was escorting one of our kids to the preschool class, down at the other end of the building. It was a few minutes after the bell, most of the kids were in the classroooms, just a few stragglers. As we were walking down the hall, there was the "Please stand for "O Canada"" announcement, followed 30 seconds later by the national anthem. In my sight were maybe half a dozen kids at their lockers, a couple of staff members, one or two parents, and down at the end of the hall, several preschool parents with their kids. All the schoolkids in sight stopped what they were doing, and stood quietly while the anthem was playing, as did the staff members,myself and the child I was with. ALL of the parents just kept on with what they were doing, oblivious.
Few hours later, it's lunchtime and I went to the kindergarten room to pick up the kids who come to daycare after half day kindergarten. The K teachers have posted large notices, on the walls, and on the doors of their room, asking parents to wait for their children on the rug by the outside door, rather than in the hall outside the room. There are plenty of reasons for this - the hallway is very busy just before lunch, as the older chilldren leave the French and Music rooms for their classrooms, and the Full-day kindergarteners go to wash and get their lunches from their lockers. Also, the teachers are trying to teach hallway discipline, (no running, talking, etc) which kinda goes by the boards when mommy is standing right there. They also are teaching the children to get themselves ready to go outside, and to be responsible for their possessions. So, they are supposed to come out of the room, go to their lockers and get their things on, gather their packs, and meet their parents by the door. Notices about this everywhere, and it is also stressed in every newsletter. So, what did I see at the door to the kindergarten room? You guessed it, about 8 parents, lounging around, blocking the halls, letting their younger children run around wild. Of course none of them had taken their boots off, so they were dripping melted dirty snow all over the hallway where children will be walking in their sock feet, between the bootracks and their rooms. When the children come out, these parents grab their own kids out of line, gather all their things, put their coats on for them....
At the beginning of every school year, the police make a point of being around at drop off time, to ticket parents who let their kids out of the cars in the middle of the street, rather than parking and letting them out. And then there are the parents who do park, get out and walk their children to the schoolyard, jaywalking and crossing at every conceiveable place BUT the crosswalk. The cops have to come at intervals all through the year, because even parents who have gotten ticketed for it fall back into it, after a couple of weeks. This despite signs everywhere, notices in the newsletter, and, let's not forget , any vestige of common sense.
I truly don't know what gives some people such a sense of 'specialness' that they always feel that the rules are for the other guy. I look at the example these people are setting for their children and it makes me shudder for the future.
I work in a daycare which is in a school building. This morning I was escorting one of our kids to the preschool class, down at the other end of the building. It was a few minutes after the bell, most of the kids were in the classroooms, just a few stragglers. As we were walking down the hall, there was the "Please stand for "O Canada"" announcement, followed 30 seconds later by the national anthem. In my sight were maybe half a dozen kids at their lockers, a couple of staff members, one or two parents, and down at the end of the hall, several preschool parents with their kids. All the schoolkids in sight stopped what they were doing, and stood quietly while the anthem was playing, as did the staff members,myself and the child I was with. ALL of the parents just kept on with what they were doing, oblivious.
Few hours later, it's lunchtime and I went to the kindergarten room to pick up the kids who come to daycare after half day kindergarten. The K teachers have posted large notices, on the walls, and on the doors of their room, asking parents to wait for their children on the rug by the outside door, rather than in the hall outside the room. There are plenty of reasons for this - the hallway is very busy just before lunch, as the older chilldren leave the French and Music rooms for their classrooms, and the Full-day kindergarteners go to wash and get their lunches from their lockers. Also, the teachers are trying to teach hallway discipline, (no running, talking, etc) which kinda goes by the boards when mommy is standing right there. They also are teaching the children to get themselves ready to go outside, and to be responsible for their possessions. So, they are supposed to come out of the room, go to their lockers and get their things on, gather their packs, and meet their parents by the door. Notices about this everywhere, and it is also stressed in every newsletter. So, what did I see at the door to the kindergarten room? You guessed it, about 8 parents, lounging around, blocking the halls, letting their younger children run around wild. Of course none of them had taken their boots off, so they were dripping melted dirty snow all over the hallway where children will be walking in their sock feet, between the bootracks and their rooms. When the children come out, these parents grab their own kids out of line, gather all their things, put their coats on for them....
At the beginning of every school year, the police make a point of being around at drop off time, to ticket parents who let their kids out of the cars in the middle of the street, rather than parking and letting them out. And then there are the parents who do park, get out and walk their children to the schoolyard, jaywalking and crossing at every conceiveable place BUT the crosswalk. The cops have to come at intervals all through the year, because even parents who have gotten ticketed for it fall back into it, after a couple of weeks. This despite signs everywhere, notices in the newsletter, and, let's not forget , any vestige of common sense.
I truly don't know what gives some people such a sense of 'specialness' that they always feel that the rules are for the other guy. I look at the example these people are setting for their children and it makes me shudder for the future.
2 Comments:
I'd have to agree. With as easily as people get irked about little things, they are teaching their children to act the same way. Parents always say it best: You will act like your parents when you get older!"
By dg_dave, Jan 15 07 8:26 PM
Australia is just the same.
A crossing wiht a crossing guard but will they use it, not if they can run between cars and put there children in danger and then scream about inproved safety for there children when one of them gets hurt.
It doesn't take much to do the right thing but some can't see it that way.
By Madwriter, Mar 24 08 7:34 PM