Friday, January 11, 2019

And another thing: singing

Most of the techniques I've discovered so far for getting kids to do what they are supposed to be doing anyway have to do with seeming cool to them. I'm very wary of this, because even as a seventh-grader, it's a terrible idea to rely on other seventh-graders for your sense of social acceptance, let alone when you're a grownup. Nevertheless, if it works, I'm gonna do it, whether it's drawing or wearing magical tennis shoes (more on this later) or whatev.

My latest, however, is not about being cool at all; it's about being obnoxious. As I told a friend the other day, if you threaten a punishment that's too harsh, then the child has to keep doing the behavior you're trying to get them to stop, because they have to find out whether you would really do it. It becomes about what you are doing, instead of what they are doing. The best punishments are just annoying, like having to line up earlier than your friends because you didn't line up in time yesterday.

OR having an adult sing to you, opera-style, about the thing you are supposed to be doing. "Please take your haaaaands away from him! If I have to walk next to you to get you to stop, that's what I will do!" Man, you have never seen a hallway clear out so fast.

I know I shouldn't over-use it, any more than I should rely on seventh-grader-acceptance, but I also have to say that it's been a while since I have had this much fun at work. *impish grin*

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