I think teachers have an important role in making sure Stephen Hawking’s prediction about aggression destroying us doesn’t come true. Over the years I think we could all agree that people in general are more reactive to situations. Kids are not as generally patient and less likely to believe that something can be an accident. Adults are the same. The idea of having a conversation to solve a problem seems to be a foreign idea to many people. Stephen Hawking talks about aggression being of value during caveman days because of survival. Which I’m sure it was after all no one wanted to be a saber toothed tiger’s lunch. Today teachers know aggression or toughness is valued among many families today. It seems to be the power some people crave or a tool to help their children survive. Stephen Hawking also recognized the value of talking and how it has changed the course of our existence
We cannot know everyone’s story. Even though as teachers we try.We do know that many children have lived a lifetime even before they walk through the doors of kindergarten. So what can we do? We can fight back with words and conviction! We can say that curriculum is important but that time spent teaching social skills is just as important. It pains me to see what is happening in kindergarten and primary grades across our country. Children are pushed beyond their natural boundaries. They are given little or no time to interact freely with each other. I believe children often release some of this stress as aggression. Some folks have the idea that free time is wasted time or unsupervised time. Not true.. we all need time to decompress in order to become the people we want to be..our best selves.
Teachers are great listeners. Teachers hear the conversations of children. Teachers help children work through problems. Teachers say things like, “Use your words.” and they truly mean it. Teachers like to help children make friends especially early childhood teachers. I believe that all teachers believe in kids but in my own life experience I have heard many middle and high school teachers express that they think their students are too far gone to develop new ways of thinking. There is amazing work going on across our country with middle and high school students working on mediation and problem solving with their teachers. We all need to commit to the important idea that we can solve problems without aggression after all our future depends on it! We need to bend the curve open the black hole and prove Stephen Hawking wrong on this prediction! Let’s create the future we want.
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