Responsability

I like the 6th graders.  A couple of them are chatty, but they're generally well behaved.  Last year I had class with them first thing in the morning, this year it's the last class on Friday afternoons.  I've noticed a difference in the energy level.  I might start taking them stickers as an incentive to respond to questions more.


But anyway, the title of today's lecture for the 6th graders was "The Impact of my Decisions".  We talked about personal responsibility and how it affects our lives; negatively and positively. 

My partner-teacher, Maria, asked the kids to raise their hands if they think they are a responsible person.  All of the students immediately raised their hands and were very adamant that they are all responsible.  Maria picked up the catalog which holds all of their grades for every class.  "Oh, really?  So if I look through this you will all have perfect grades?"  Half of the kids lowered their hands.


But even though most of them don't have perfect grades, I do think that a lot of the children in Moldova take on much more responsibility than children in America.  My childhood chores consisted of vacuuming, dusting, helping with dinner, and keeping my room clean.  I never had to work in the garden every day because that would determine how much food we had or feed the animals at dawn.  Never had to help clean the school.  It was never my responsibility to look after younger siblings because our parents worked out of country or make sure that Brian was fed.  Sometimes being in Moldova reminds me of the arguments that childhood is not a natural human phenomenon, but something invented by certain societies and cultures.