I have found Tangled Up in School to be quite interesting. My focus in my masters program is higher ed, so I can’t really relate too much to the elementary school classroom. However I do coach a lot of elementary-age kids on my cheer squads. So I especially related to the chapter about the intersection of bodies and space. I, like Kyle, want to go a little “off topic” in talking about the subject of the chapter rather than the methods used.
Although she didn’t say it outright, the author gave the impression that requiring children to conform to the rules of the classroom is detrimental to their body space development. I don’t agree with that at all. It is necessary that children learn to control their bodies in a classroom setting for two main reasons. First, there are many “real world” settings both in their current lives and their lives as the age and grow where they will need to control their bodies to maintain an appropriate level of decorum (such as attending church services, concerts, theater, etc.). It’s good for them to learn this control in the classroom where they can make mistakes, then they will be better prepared for the real life situations.
Second, and this goes along with the first, is that children need to learn control in order to respect the bodily rights of those around them. In the classroom especially, if children are allowed to run freely, they will likely start infringing on the rights of the other children in the classroom. I went to a harassment training at work a few weeks ago and one thing the trainer said really stuck with me—“your rights end where the other person’s rights begin.” This is something that children might as well learn early on.
Sorry to go off topic a little—away from the methodology into the subject. I look forward to a good discussion on Tuesday.
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