School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 1 – Week 27
Why it is so difficult admitting we made a mistake
Last week the first-grade scholars and I talked about the art of making mistakes. This week the assignment was to talk about why it is so difficult to admit we make mistakes.
The young scholars are now arriving
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim! Cookies?
Me: Yes, I have cookies. Sue, will you hand them out please?
Sue wheels around handing out the cookies which are quickly consumed.
Me: I am eager to hear what you and your families members think are the reasons why so many of us – children and adults – find it difficult to admit it when we make a mistake.
Sam: My brother always thinks he is right. I hate it when he is!
Me: Why do you hate it when Paul is right Sam?
Sam: Because he makes fun of me and treats me like a baby!
Me: You are both very smart Sam. He is often right because he is a lot older and has had a lot more time to learn then you have. You are right a lot of the time too Sam.
Sam: It is not easy having an older brother Uncle Jim.
Me: No, it is not. When we are young we always cannot wait to grow up.
Sam: Will I ever be as smart as he is Uncle Jim?
Me: You already are Sam, but you can only know so much at your age. As you get older you will be better at some things than Paul is and he will be better at some things than you are.
Ahmes: Sometimes because I sound funny other kids treat me dumb and they call me names. I am dumb about a lot of things but I bet if they came to Egypt with me that they would feel dumb too.
Me: So, because we come from a different country or are younger some will make fun of you when you do or say things differently. We call it a mistake.
Ahmes: In class if I make a mistake you are really nice. It is easy to admit to a mistake here Mr. Jim.
Me: Both you and Sam are saying that sometime we are fearful of admitting we make a mistake because we think someone will make fun of us or call us names.
Tara: When I get as old as you Mr. Jim no one will make fun of me or call me names if I make a mistake.
Me: That is not necessarily true. Remember before President Trump won the election he and the other candidates made fun of each other a lot.
Tara: Oh. Like “lying Hilary”.
Me: Yes. Anytime one of the candidates made a mistake others would make fun of them.
Sue: I sometimes get afraid that I admit to a mistake others will be mad at me.
Me: Sometimes they will but not always. Does anyone in here make fun of someone if they make a mistake.
Steve: No, Mr. Jim but they do in other classes.
Me: I am sorry about that Steve.
Sofia: Mom says that sometimes in her workplace if someone makes a mistake they get fired.
Me: Do they get fired for the first mistake Sofia?
Sofia: I do not know Mr. Jim. I will ask my mom.
Me: What happens at home when you someone in the family makes a mistake.
Sofia: it depends. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry.
Me: Are you laughing at each other?
Sofia: No. We laugh with each other because we know that all of us make silly mistakes.’
Me: It is fun to laugh with each other and not at each other.
Class: Yes!
Tommy: Sometimes people go to jail when they make mistakes.’
Me: Yes, that can be very scary. So, sometimes people are afraid to admit they make a mistake because the might get into trouble such as going to jail.
Susie: Why do they put people in jail for mistakes?
Me: The community decides that some mistakes are worse than others. For examples if someone get mad enough to hurt someone then the community might be afraid that they will hurt someone else again.
Steve: What if they are really, really sorry?
Me: Sometimes that makes a difference to the judge. Sometimes it does not. If the judge thinks the person is likely to do the same thing again it may not make any difference.
Tommy: If I think the homework is unfair and I refuse to do it I will get punished.
Me: That is true, but would you admit to why you did not do it and why you thought it was unfair.
Tommy: No, because I really just forgot to do it and did not want to admit it. So I said it was unfair.
Me: Why didn’t you want to admit it Tommy?
Tommy: Because I felt really dumb and my mom had reminded me to do it.
Me: It takes a lot of courage to admit that we made a dumb mistake.
Tommy: Do we all make dumb mistakes?
Me: Yes, we do.
Tara: Yesterday dad forgot to stop at the grocery store even though mom had reminded him.
Me: What happened?
Tara: Since we live pretty far from the store dad asked everyone if it would be okay to have pancakes for dinner. We said “Yes.
Me: All of you seem to be saying that in your home most of the times it is good to admit that one makes a mistake. That is true in this class also.
Steve: if everyone makes mistakes then why is it so hard to admit it Mr. Jim?
Me: I am hearing that if we know that on one is going to punish us or make fun of us then it is much easier to admit when we make mistake but if someone might make fun of us or punish us it is much harder.
Sue: What about when the mistake is really dumb Mr. Jim.
Me: We all make really dumb mistakes Sue?
Sue: But what is someone get hurt because of a mistake?
Me: Then it can be really scary to admit that we made the mistake. Is it still important that we admit the mistake?
Sam: That is really hard Uncle Jim. If I know my brother Paul was going to get punished for my mistakes I would have to go tell on myself. Once I did not and I felt really bad. Finally, I started crying at dinner and had to tell. Then I had to apologize to Paul and my parents.
Me: What else happened Sam?
Sam: Mom and dad said that some mistakes make others sad but that is not the same as being mad. In this case I had accidentally broken mom’s favorite vase. She was sad but she said that while we needed to be careful some things are going to get broken.
Me: So I am hearing that:
You scholars did a wonderful job once again. I am so very proud of you.
Sam and Ahmes will you pass out the cookies please?
They do so.
Me: The assignment which I am going to ask Tara to pass out is to discuss with your family how the decision we make about the food we eat affect others.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a wonderful week.
Scholars: You too Mr. Jim!
Written March 2, 2017
Why it is so difficult admitting we made a mistake
Last week the first-grade scholars and I talked about the art of making mistakes. This week the assignment was to talk about why it is so difficult to admit we make mistakes.
The young scholars are now arriving
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim! Cookies?
Me: Yes, I have cookies. Sue, will you hand them out please?
Sue wheels around handing out the cookies which are quickly consumed.
Me: I am eager to hear what you and your families members think are the reasons why so many of us – children and adults – find it difficult to admit it when we make a mistake.
Sam: My brother always thinks he is right. I hate it when he is!
Me: Why do you hate it when Paul is right Sam?
Sam: Because he makes fun of me and treats me like a baby!
Me: You are both very smart Sam. He is often right because he is a lot older and has had a lot more time to learn then you have. You are right a lot of the time too Sam.
Sam: It is not easy having an older brother Uncle Jim.
Me: No, it is not. When we are young we always cannot wait to grow up.
Sam: Will I ever be as smart as he is Uncle Jim?
Me: You already are Sam, but you can only know so much at your age. As you get older you will be better at some things than Paul is and he will be better at some things than you are.
Ahmes: Sometimes because I sound funny other kids treat me dumb and they call me names. I am dumb about a lot of things but I bet if they came to Egypt with me that they would feel dumb too.
Me: So, because we come from a different country or are younger some will make fun of you when you do or say things differently. We call it a mistake.
Ahmes: In class if I make a mistake you are really nice. It is easy to admit to a mistake here Mr. Jim.
Me: Both you and Sam are saying that sometime we are fearful of admitting we make a mistake because we think someone will make fun of us or call us names.
Tara: When I get as old as you Mr. Jim no one will make fun of me or call me names if I make a mistake.
Me: That is not necessarily true. Remember before President Trump won the election he and the other candidates made fun of each other a lot.
Tara: Oh. Like “lying Hilary”.
Me: Yes. Anytime one of the candidates made a mistake others would make fun of them.
Sue: I sometimes get afraid that I admit to a mistake others will be mad at me.
Me: Sometimes they will but not always. Does anyone in here make fun of someone if they make a mistake.
Steve: No, Mr. Jim but they do in other classes.
Me: I am sorry about that Steve.
Sofia: Mom says that sometimes in her workplace if someone makes a mistake they get fired.
Me: Do they get fired for the first mistake Sofia?
Sofia: I do not know Mr. Jim. I will ask my mom.
Me: What happens at home when you someone in the family makes a mistake.
Sofia: it depends. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry.
Me: Are you laughing at each other?
Sofia: No. We laugh with each other because we know that all of us make silly mistakes.’
Me: It is fun to laugh with each other and not at each other.
Class: Yes!
Tommy: Sometimes people go to jail when they make mistakes.’
Me: Yes, that can be very scary. So, sometimes people are afraid to admit they make a mistake because the might get into trouble such as going to jail.
Susie: Why do they put people in jail for mistakes?
Me: The community decides that some mistakes are worse than others. For examples if someone get mad enough to hurt someone then the community might be afraid that they will hurt someone else again.
Steve: What if they are really, really sorry?
Me: Sometimes that makes a difference to the judge. Sometimes it does not. If the judge thinks the person is likely to do the same thing again it may not make any difference.
Tommy: If I think the homework is unfair and I refuse to do it I will get punished.
Me: That is true, but would you admit to why you did not do it and why you thought it was unfair.
Tommy: No, because I really just forgot to do it and did not want to admit it. So I said it was unfair.
Me: Why didn’t you want to admit it Tommy?
Tommy: Because I felt really dumb and my mom had reminded me to do it.
Me: It takes a lot of courage to admit that we made a dumb mistake.
Tommy: Do we all make dumb mistakes?
Me: Yes, we do.
Tara: Yesterday dad forgot to stop at the grocery store even though mom had reminded him.
Me: What happened?
Tara: Since we live pretty far from the store dad asked everyone if it would be okay to have pancakes for dinner. We said “Yes.
Me: All of you seem to be saying that in your home most of the times it is good to admit that one makes a mistake. That is true in this class also.
Steve: if everyone makes mistakes then why is it so hard to admit it Mr. Jim?
Me: I am hearing that if we know that on one is going to punish us or make fun of us then it is much easier to admit when we make mistake but if someone might make fun of us or punish us it is much harder.
Sue: What about when the mistake is really dumb Mr. Jim.
Me: We all make really dumb mistakes Sue?
Sue: But what is someone get hurt because of a mistake?
Me: Then it can be really scary to admit that we made the mistake. Is it still important that we admit the mistake?
Sam: That is really hard Uncle Jim. If I know my brother Paul was going to get punished for my mistakes I would have to go tell on myself. Once I did not and I felt really bad. Finally, I started crying at dinner and had to tell. Then I had to apologize to Paul and my parents.
Me: What else happened Sam?
Sam: Mom and dad said that some mistakes make others sad but that is not the same as being mad. In this case I had accidentally broken mom’s favorite vase. She was sad but she said that while we needed to be careful some things are going to get broken.
Me: So I am hearing that:
- We need to be careful and avoid mistakes when possible.
- Make it safe to admit when someone makes a mistake.
- Learn from our mistakes.
- Not be so concerned about what others think.
- Not judge someone else when they are afraid to tell the truth about their mistake.
You scholars did a wonderful job once again. I am so very proud of you.
Sam and Ahmes will you pass out the cookies please?
They do so.
Me: The assignment which I am going to ask Tara to pass out is to discuss with your family how the decision we make about the food we eat affect others.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a wonderful week.
Scholars: You too Mr. Jim!
Written March 2, 2017
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