Importance Of Carrying A Basket

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Carrying a Basket
Any parent or educator who works with young children knows that when there is a group of children together, there is bound to be disagreements. Just like physical skills such as walking, jumping and running, young children need to learn social skills like how to express their feelings, negotiate with others and show empathy (Porter, 2008a). And, just like learning to walk, children will inevitably “fall down” many times before they become confident using these new skills. In the Videative clip “Carrying a Basket” (Curtin University Library Videatives Streaming Service, n. d.), a group of children aged 4 years old are returning a basket to the school’s kitchen. The children meet an obstacle when they cannot agree on who …show more content…

According to Hendrick and Weissman (2010) there are 5 steps to conflict resolution. The first step is establishing a sense of calm. The educator achieves this by crouching down so that she is at the same level as the children and speaking in a calm manner. She does not single out children or make accusations, even when she is told that one child pushed another child out of the way. The next step is determining what the conflict is about and conveying that each child will be able to help find the solution. The educator facilitates this by asking the children for details about the conflict. She asks “What happened? And then what happened? Which side were you holding?” The educator allows each child to tell their version of what happened, and clarifies the details as they go. She asks “Max did you see what happened?” She also asks the children how they think Jacob felt when his hands were pushed off the basket. Once the problem has been identified, the next step is to ask for solutions. The educator asks “How can we get this basket back to the kitchen where it needs to go?” The children then offer solutions to the problem. When solutions are offered, the educator asks if the other children agree and continues until all of them are happy with the solution. The educator does not give the answer to children, but keeps asking questions until children can find a solution for themselves. This ensures the children have autonomy in their decisions (Porter, 2008b). They decide on the solutions because they feel it is fair, not because the educator tells them it is fair. This will enable children to internalise their locus of causality, ensuring that in the future, they will make the decision to behave ethically because they believe it is the right thing to do, not for fear of punishment or in order to earn favour or rewards from adults (Woolfolk &

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