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Teachers, Stop Saying Your Classroom is a Family and That Everyone is a Friend
Friendship is based on choice not proximity
A few weeks ago, my son had some problems with kids at his school.
He is in grade one, so right in the middle of confusing social interactions, and constant explanations about what constitutes proper cooperation with others. Just a normal kid, trying to navigate school, friendships, and life.
This time though, he said something that made my blood boil.
Some kids in his class had excluded him from a game and had made fun of him. One of the kids had made rude comments, screamed, and made my son feel bad about himself, pretty much every day for the past month.
“I am sad because he is my friend,” my son said.
“Buddy,” I told him. “Not everyone in your class is your friend. If someone constantly makes you feel bad, yells at you, and excludes you from games, they are not a friend. Why don’t you trying finding someone else to play with?”
“That isn’t what Ms. Smith says,” my son told me. “She says that our classroom is a family and that we are all friends. So I guess even though George is being mean to me, he is still my friend. And friends play together.”
