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5 Under 6 Tips, tricks, and tales from the trenches... May 26, 2010 By Andrea Evans
What You Learn in Kindergarten
As the school year draws
to an end, my husband and I were recently having a conversation about
the “life skills” that our 6 year-old son has learned in kindergarten.
The discussion mainly focused on how these very simple things that he
has learned this year, can really be applied to everyday life and
relationships for adults, both in business and personally.
Obviously, the basic manners and respect that are learned are very
important, as kindergarten is really the first step into life in terms
of responsibilities and relationships. But, as my husband and I
began to list other things that my son has learned, we began to realize
just how many other basic, fundamental and important life lessons that
are taught so very early on in our lives. A friend of ours once
said, “God gave you two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice
as much as you speak.” This is a valuable lesson that I know has
been reinforced daily in his class. But, strangely enough, it’s
also something that in business or personal relationships that also
holds true. It’s human nature to think about what to say next, or
interject with excitement while someone else is speaking. If we
all abide by the “If my mouth is speaking, then your ears should be
listening” theory as they do in the classroom, perhaps people wouldn’t
interrupt quite as often, allowing the person speaking to finish their
thought. Another very important
lesson learned this year by our son, was that “Two wrongs don’t make a
right.” As adults, when things get tough and people disappoint us
or hurt us, sometimes our instincts are to retaliate and hurt them in
return with words or by our actions. There have been many times
that I have seen our son not react, because he has been told over and
over again that hurting someone that has hurt you, doesn’t make it
right. This holds true in business and with any relationship, as I
tell our son, sometimes you win simply by walking away. Our son Carter is also
very easily deterred when things get difficult. And another lesson
he has learned has been that, “If first you don’t succeed, try again.”
I have found myself telling not only him, but reminding myself on many
occasions that everything worth having, is worth working for. I
have seen the pride on his face when he finishes a challenging book, or
a set of math problems. I have also seen this same look on my
husband’s face when a problem in business has been resolved. The
similarities and situations are amazingly different, yet basically the
same. The last lesson that he
has learned this year is that, “When you are wrong, you say you are
sorry.” In all of our lives there have been times when we have
been wrong, at work, at home, or with friends. The important part
is how we rectify these mistakes, and sometimes as adults, admitting
that we were wrong, and apologizing is very difficult.
Kindergartners are reminded constantly to say they are sorry, and admit
fault. For adults, many times, this is completely passed over
because our pride or ego get in the way. The kindergartners are
reminded of all these things constantly, and as adults, we sometimes
need to be reminded of the very basic of rules when dealing with others.
It seems so simple when thinking of these things in terms of the
experiences and relationships of a 6 year old. But thinking about
these basic lessons and applying them to our lives, as adults, just
might just remind us that we don’t need to complicate things nearly as
much.
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