Sure my eight year olds can't wait their turn, and sometimes they need some time to calm down after losing at a kickball BUT when it comes to cutting through the nonsense, and coming straight to the point you can count on a third grader to do you a solid.
So when my class was discussing recycling, climate change, and the dangers of plastic one of my students, Mera piped up, "How could a company be allowed to make a plastic that can't be recycled?"
Out of the mouths of babes.
I told them, "Great question!"
And then we brainstormed, and problem solved what (if anything) we could do. We decided to write Nestle. (Nestle makes Yoplait) The kids decided to take on plastic that they used, and 'lots of it. They felt that this angle was more relevant, and made more sense.
They never did hear back from Nestle that year. They were a few that were frustrated, but by then they were engrossed in recycling their Crayola markers.
Don't ever under estimate a third grader.
Just yesterday we were talking about speaking truth to youth—man, it seems the adults are the ones who are intimidated by it, not the kids—and a friend said, "As long as you couple the problem with some agency in responding to it, why be afraid of it?" I love that your eight-year-olds are not afraid, that in your classroom, they have agency as a matter-of-fact!
ReplyDeleteYep! Third graders give me hope. And I need it.
DeleteYep, kids get it. I’ve been preaching about plastic pollution since around 2001 when I read “Life of Pi.” It’s too bad Nestle ignored the learners, but I hope that failure to respond doesn’t deter them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so- but I hope that as well.
DeleteLove the empowering of those 8 year olds. They will grow up to be changemakers. What you wrote about is absolutely why I love working with my 2nd graders.
ReplyDeleteYou are a lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteMorna, what a great story. I wish companies would listen. One of the problems with corporations listening only to what people buy, and not what the world also needs. I do love third graders too! They were my very first teaching experience. So well put about third-grade superpowers: "...coming straight to the point you can count on a third grader to do you a solid."
ReplyDeleteI love the brainstorming and problem solving they did. So wise to focus on what we, as individuals, can do as well as trying to pressure companies to do what is right.
ReplyDelete