Going back to school – 5 things you can learn from a third grader

Photo credit: www.mrsestblog.blogspot.com.

I’m going back to school for higher learning. However, it’s not at the collegiate level. I’m going back to elementary school…as a substitute teacher. Last week I was assigned to a third grade class. It was a little more sophisticated than the kindergarten classes I’ve experienced.

There are five things that I learned from my encounter with the third grade class:

1.      Ring a bell when the kids are being too loud. The teacher had a small hand bell on her desk for this purpose. I allowed the students to talk quietly, but at one point their voices began to elevate. The little girl who sat near the teacher’s desk leaned over to me and said, “You can ring the bell, they’re not supposed to talk this loud.”

2.      Don’t let too many kids go to the bathroom. I let 4 or 5 kids go to the restroom (not all at once) before I realized it was becoming a pattern.

3.      Take away minutes of recess for kids who are talking too much. Taking away recess is like snatching an ice cream cone from them. They DO NOT want to miss recess.

4.      Third graders are competitive. I turned their social studies assignment into a quiz bowl game. As I asked questions, hands shot up in the air and waved frantically.

5.      Everyone will ask to do things their teacher doesn’t normally let them do. A boy with big brown eyes asked, “Can we read books when we’re done with our work?”

“Sure,” I said. I was so excited that he wanted to read. Then it was brought to my attention by a girl with long braids, “Mrs. V. we’re not supposed to read those books. They belong to kids from the other class.” We put the books away and did an alternate activity.

What I really learned that day in third grade is that adults can learn a thing or two from kids.

What are you learning from kids lately?