學習作品

｜TMIS – Atlanta’s Intern Journal at TMIS EP3｜

【Working With The First Graders】

The first graders are practicing writing. Last week, they wrote words on sticky notes and pasted them on the wall. This week, they stuck the notes together and formed a long sheet of paper. I participated in both works owing to their need of taking down or sticking on the notes much taller than them.

The children would try themselves and helped each other before asking me for help. I noticed this because last week, the first graders took the chair and stood on it, trying to reach the card. “The first grader took the chair and stood on it by themselves” might seem dangerous to many. Hence, I paid close attention to them and observed what happened next.

He soon realized that it was out of his reach and noticed me, silently standing not far away, and asked for my assistance. I agreed. He sought help after trying instead of giving up or refusing to try. Such action probably responded to the design trait of “proper chance for challenges and independence” of the prepared environment. However, with some pondering afterward, I thought it better for me to ask him to seek help from others before coming to me.

Therefore, this week, when the children asked me to help with “opening the plastic package of the sticky notes”, before I asked him to find classmates that might help, one volunteered with an exciting facial expression.

The package was really hard to tear, so the children who sought help and who offered help encountered difficulties. They struggled mentally whether to give up and let me do it. In the end, they did it by themselves.

There are so many interpersonal interactions and connections in the trivial event of opening a package. It is in this seemingly inefficient and long process that you foster the ability to accomplish something independently and help one another.

#mslamschool #tmis #Atlanta’s Intern Journal at TMIS