Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Human Behavior


Humans fascinate me, let me tell you why. First, children don't have the same kind reasoning like a adults. Yet they but they go ahead and try to make sense of other kids. Whereas adults often act like children using no reason and are often times unnecessary. This is what fascinates me about humans. Let me share a few experiences.

First, I have this conversation with a five and six year old child.
Six year old: "teacher, my uncle Nick was borned by wuves"
Ms. Mindy: Wow, your uncle was raised by Wolves?
Six year old: "ya, so my mom said that my grandma was in the forest and heard a peep... Then they picked him up to bring him home".
Ms. Mindy: Oh' really! (in amazement)
Six year old: "Really teacher he was borned by the wuves".
Me: Let me get this right the wolf gave birth to your Uncle Nick
Six year old: "Yep, that's what my mom said, just go ask her!"
Five year old: My mom said "I was raised by wolves too"!
Six year old: "See teacher".

Amazing little child making sense of the idiomatic phrase that his uncle was "raised by wolves". On the one side this could be a rather scary thought at least for a child. Yet, he doesn't have the reasoning to see that his mom is talking about the character rather than the actual act. It is fascinating the childlike innocence making sense of this rather scary idea. Children fill in the blank for what they may not understand with their minds. Adults who have the gift of reason need to use it! In talking to my mom about this idea, she said it is rather common for parents to say to children "you came from the cabbage patch" or "the stork brought you". I must have been spared of these rather scary ideas as a child or was in my dreamy state of oblivion.

Adults using reasoning isn't as easy done as said. My wild observations of adult behavior continue to fascinate me. For example, as a civil servant in public education I feel it is in the best interest of our entire community to have a protocol with rules, consequences and rewards. To observe adults who react rather than using their head and heart but rather act childlike is fascinating. For example, I set a time and after that time the protocol must be followed. It was much to my surprise how childlike some adults act. I actually had an adult in front of her child and slammed the door in my face. All I could think was "wow, look what you are teaching your child"! If you teach your child to disregard, ignore and devalue adults who enforce boundaries and who follow protocol it is just another lost case of fascinating human behavior. Sadly, adults who act like children around other adults aren't using their full potential. Some adults have a very wonderful human gift called "reasoning". While others are stuck in childish behavior when someone says "no" or gives them a kind reminders about the rules I am left to think "were they raised by wolves...?"

Adults need to value, safeguard this as if it were a gift because otherwise, it creates fascinating material to vent over and leave little room to wonder why children
Therefore, I just chuckled to myself about the fascinating human behavior I get to observe moment by moment during my day.

1 comment:

Tara said...

Mindy! I found your link through my blog. I had totally lost touch with you and didn't know you had a blog. You should have said something! Anyway, I want to catch up with you. I guess I should look through your blog a little more, but where are you? Are you happy teaching? I'm finally getting my teaching degree after all these years!
Okay, please write me. Leave a comment or you can email me at taranevans@yahoo.ca. Talk to you soon!