I Expected Students to Already Know the Line
On reflection, I think sometimes that I expect children to know the line when they come to my class. I think it is because I assume that general standards of behaviour fit into what I consider to be general social norms/expectations. But the longer I teach, the more I realise that young children come to school from such a variety of backgrounds; that their experience of “the line” varies depending on the experiences they have had and how other significant adults in their life have already responded to and shaped their behaviour. I have to be quite explicit in helping young children understand where the line is, and not take it personally when they don’t know or forget, or when their emotions take over and they cross the line repeatedly.
