Week 30 - "Bear" Minimum

"Let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to discover the child's natural bent" - Plato

When Vanessa enrolled her five-year-old daughter, Kaitlin, in kindergarten she chose a private school. This school had a three-year waiting list, and Vanessa had put Kaitlin on it when she was two. She was excited to finally be able to meet the teachers and tour the facility with the eyes of a kindergarten parent.

The rows of desks could not have been more perfectly aligned. Each prospective child's name was displayed on his or her future desk. The bulletin boards were color coordinated, and the discipline plan was in plain sight in the front of the room. Each child had a construction paper bear with his or her name on it. Vanessa read the plan in horror.

• Talking out of turn = take bear away
• Moving out of seat = take bear away
• Dropping pencil = take bear away
• No homework = take bear away
• Tardiness = take bear away

On and on it went. Vanessa's blood drained from her face as she asked, "But how do they get their bear back?"

The teacher looked at her in disgust. "Not until the next day when it starts all over again." This is the teacher Kaitlin would have in kindergarten? Vanessa politely thanked the teacher for her time and sprinted to the office to take Kaitlin off this hit list!

In discipline, break the will but preserve the spirit of a child.

Prompt: I try to preserve the spirits of my students by. . .