Playground Politics

Spring has sprung and the fabulous Firsties have their parents in a tailspin! In the last week alone received THREE emails from parents concerned about something that was said or done on the playground.  So here is my two cents....

I like to use the term "Playground Politics" to describe what happens for 20 minutes each day in our little classroom family.  At 1:40 I line everyone up and march them in an orderly line to the great outdoors. Once the doors fly open the TRUE personalities emerge!

Immediately it becomes lobby time at the capitol.  The organizers instantly pull together the candidates that they want to play the game of the moment.  The bystanders are sometimes pulled in and occasionally a brave bystander steps up and joins in without an invitation.  When this occurs, it causes a bit of confusion from the organizers and the candidates  but he quickly gains freshman candidate status.  This kid, mind you, is closely watched by the organizers and the incumbent candidates for his suitability for future candidacy. This is an important moment for him. He can open the door for other bystanders or banish them all to sitting in the sandbox.

Across the playground, the supporters, guided by another organizer (often not as strong as the others or possibly disgruntled by the choice of game), are planning their attack.  This group pretends not to care what the larger group is doing but all the while they are watching.  When opportunity presents itself, they charge in.  Usually this occurs by planting themselves right in the middle of the larger group's area and challenging them outright.  Battle lines are drawn and the negotiators shine through.  Here is also where you may see deserters and the reporters seize their opportunity to report all the delicious details.

Along the perimeter of this political mayhem, you will find the bystanders who did not join in, the free spirits who never join in, the deserters who joined but left when things got hot and the teachers, trying not to get involved.

I am often asked by parents  why I don't know who their child plays with at recess.  That answer is very simple to me but hard for parents to understand. My answer is simply that I try to avoid playground politics.

Playground politics are very important for a child's normal development.  These are the social interactions that they MUST have for themselves.  Here is where the little bystander learns that he does have a voice to advocate for himself and his friends.  Here is where the former deserter learns to help his friends stop an argument and thus becoming a negotiator.  The danger in playground politics is not in allowing the children to govern themselves; the danger is when adults become involved.

In order to become problem solvers and to be able to face their world with confidence, children MUST be allowed opportunities to actually solve their own problems and face the consequences, they must learn what it feels like to be left out of a game so that they develop compassion for others in the same position, they need to learn how to get angry with a friend and how to make up. This is a natural order that children must go through to develop these skills and to be successful in society.  They cant learn these life lessons from a book and mom or dad- no matter how loving- cant teach them.

The only instance where it is appropriate for the adults to step in (besides injuries or physical fighting) is to address the terrorists.  These little friends make it their mission to disrupt the normal flow of things. They are the friends who use bullying tactics, they threaten physical violence and use inappropriate language.  Where it is usually appropriate to allow the system to handle the terrorists, many times the adults must step in and take him/her out.

Adult interference is dangerous in this delicate political process because we can unintentionally send the children the message that they are not capable of solving their own problems. By stepping in to solve the normal lobbying on the playground, we can send a devastating blow to the entire system.  No matter what their intention, how many books they have read or the number of degrees behind their names, adults have no place in the order of the playground.