Brought some children for an outing today, and I've gained some new insights.
Many of our children are misunderstood. Usually the people around them tend to take their behaviour superficially and would not go in depth to understand why they act in certain ways. A child may misbehave because he wants to help his teacher, for e.g. Boy X threw a pen at Boy Y who was playing a fool in Miss Z's class. Boy X had good intentions, but may ended up being scolded because his action can easily be seen as a misbehaviour.
So, there was this parent who was very critical of her own children, and the words she used were not pleasant to hear too. (If I were her child, I would be an angry one.) I thought her children will be difficult to deal with... In the middle of the outing, the girl fell down and dirtied herself. I brought her to a wash basin and washed away the dirt on her legs. She looked at me gratefully and said thank you gently. Totally unexpected. I was surprised.
I have another boy, who is labelled as "lazy and naughty" by his teachers. The interesting point to note is that, in contrast to his behaviour in class, he does his work conscientiously during our groupwork sessions and he will always be very eager to show me his work. I wonder what made the difference.
I wonder, if adults are willing to try to see the children in a different light and touch them in a different way. I wonder if that's possible.
