A student was talking to me about different teachers she had worked with and she mentioned one teacher with the comment, “I didn’t like her because she treated us like babies.”  Nobody likes to be treated like a baby, often this is even true for babies!  

You can see this in a two year old writhing to be free from their parent’s arms so they can explore.  Once we have working arms and legs that can pick things up and move themselves around in some way, we want to have some say in what we do and how we do it.    

 

You can see this in the class of 1st graders all wanting to share what they know on a topic.  We like to be heard and understood.

 

And you can see this in an adult at work feeling resistant to being told what to do without any say in the matter.  We want to run our own destiny as much as possible.

 

So parents and teachers, what does this mean for you?  In what ways are you currently treating your students or children as babies?  Where do you need to let go?  What attitudes do you need to change to see them as full and capable for their age and give them the space to be as big and knowledgable as you can?

 

I know for myself it reminds me again just how much respecting student voices matters.  In the classroom I want to make room for other’s thoughts and ideas a part of the way I teach, guiding the flow of student input rather than setting myself up as the expert in everything.  If I see my students as fully capable for their stage of development, rather than seeing them as needing my help, then I can avoid the baby trap with them no matter how young they are.  This is an attitude and way of being that communicates out to my students in everything I say and do.  It tells them I know they can do it.  And then if after trying they do need some help, well then I am there to aid as needed.

 

As a parent, now with older students,  this means continuing to let go and let my children become who they are and refrain from telling them the better way to do things.  Unless I really need to share my personal brilliance with them, it is best to wait for them to ask about it and let it shine when they want to see it.