Life observations noted while teaching elementary school students

So I went to teach today at Roosevelt Elementary for the THIRD week, to teach Spanish at the after school program. I thought infants were NEEDY, these 2-5th graders are un-tamed crazies. As I was observing their child-ish behaviors, I realized that as we grow up, the subject-matter changes but the CHILD-ISH way of handing things DOESN'T.

We were playing Red-Light Green Light...well a new version I came up with to teach them Spanish (Pare, Cora, Camine).

Rules were:
1. The first to get to the other end got to be the 'Directions' Person for the next game--or be "it" like they like to say.
2. If you don't do the correct instruction, you move back 10 steps.
3. Don't cheat.

I thought I was clear and that we were going to have a jolly 'ole time. WRONG.

• Finger-pointing: The minute that I told the first kid to take a couple steps back (for walking when I said stop), the finger pointing and ratting out began...He moved too, she ran..I saw her!....etc. I took a step back and noticed that most of us ADULTS are still THE SAME. The minute someone calls us out on something we did or do wrong, we jump at bringing down as many guilty people around us as we can find. Take politicians for example. Aren't the commercials unbearable during elections....don't vote for this guy..he's a crook; Vote for me, I Volunteer with old people. And the opponent comes out with an equally lame laundry-list of evils for the former and reminds everyone how awesome he is. Which begs the questions...should I even vote since both candidates are TERRIBLE and both are CRIMINALS according to these commercials.
• A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E. Through out the game, there were 2 girls that had adult-sized attitudes that puzzled me how it all fit in those little bodies. They had the hands on the waist, eye rolling, head-tilting, eye-brow raising down packed! But the most difficult part to deal with was seeing how the other students were trying so hard to "cheer" them up...especially one boy. He offered on of the girls his turn...and she just crossed her arms and said...that's not what I want. I was amazed as this plot developed before my eyes! So many times we get into these moods, where we make the other person bend over backwards to figure out what is wrong with us...after a while we might even forget what we are really mad about--but we still keep the other person trying to 'figure it out' for us. As I saw these little girls giving off I this attitude...I wondered how ridiculous and child-ish I look when I pout. It would have saved the class lots of time and energy if these girls would have just said what they wanted. But I guess I can't expect them to do something that ADULTS rarely do...STATE CLEARLY what is bothering us, and give suggestions for how those around us can help us feel better- and GET RID of that A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E!
• I WON: Finally when we were able to make it to the end, there were 2 or 3 kids who claimed that they WON..as if I couldn't see who actually got there first. They said it so convincingly---I WON, for real...but they HADN'T. Sometimes in our adult convos, we want to WIN so bad that we loose focus of what is REALLY HAPPENING and who is ACTUALLY RIGHT. It's hard to admit when you make mistakes. It might be cause of the mentality that surrounds us, that says 2nd place is the first looser. There is such a big hype for 1st place, winning, and being right. Why can't we appreciate the courage that it takes to admit our faults, accept defeat, and LEARN from our mistakes, instead of seeing it as a sign of weakness?
• It's not fair. Towards the end of the the class I kept hearing: "I didn't get a turn". I wanted to tell them...well you didn't win, so you don't get a turn. But I felt like it was my job as their teacher to let them each get a turn, so I stayed 15 minutes after class, so that each of them got a turn to be it. I guess that's the part of childhood that we're supposed to guard--Naivety (If that is a word). As we grow up we see more clearly that life isn't fair sometimes. We simply just don't always get our turn to do what we want to do. Before you go off and roll your eyes at my statement because you think I have nothing to base it on...CHILL- i'm not saying that life is ALWAYS UNFAIR...especially mine, because I know I've lucked out on a lot of things. But reality is, that sometimes we have to work really hard to "win" and get our chance at giving the INSTRUCTIONS.

In conclusion, my 2 classes yesterday afternoon were very thought-provoking. It made me wonder if GOD is looking at us as we 'play our games' and wonders WHY WE ARE SO CHILDISH? If we could see just observe RE-PLAYs and study tapes of life's moments, we can maybe see the what we can improve or correct. I don't want my students to "act like adults", I want them to ACT HONESTLY...that is a lot to ask for from 8 and 10 year olds right?!?!

I hope that I can drop the un-necessary attitude, assume the consequences WHEN I'M wrong without point out other's faults, and have the courage to accept when others are RIGHT.

Everyday you do learn something new...even when you least expect it.