Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/words-create-worlds/5023441/
We live in an ocean of words; but like a fish in water, we are often not aware of it.
Stuart Chase
The Wisdom of Threes
A conversation I overheard from a group of three-year-olds heightened my awareness of the frequency of complaining that permeates our daily interactions. It was a typical fall day; I was observing my preschool field practicum student from the university. She was working at a table with two children and the remaining preschool children were engaged in centers. She rang a bell, which meant that the children should rotate centers. Three children were in a heated debate at the block area. It went as follows:
Susie: Tommy, you have to clean up your blocks and move to the painting center.
Tommy: You can’t tell me what to do. I don’t have time to paint, I’m still building, and I want to finish making this castle. I need more time.
Jane: I’m telling the teacher, Tommy. You know you can only build until the bell rings, and then you have to go and paint, and if you don’t paint, you won’t get snack, and then you won’t be able to go outside and play. You are running out of time to get done.
Susie: Tommy, you need to move! We ...