Nobody likes you
When I was getting my master's degree in education, one of our assignments required us to pick a book to read and write a report about it. The book had to be chosen from a selection of books on varied topics in regard to education. I chose You Can't Say You Can't Play by Vivian Paley. At the time I read it, I had no idea how much a single book would impact my philosophy about life for years to come. The book's premise is a simple one. Paley conducted a social experiment in her kindergarten classroom and made a new rule: You can't say, "You Can't Play (with me/us)". The kindergarteners response to its introduction was astonishing. One child even asked rhetorically what the point of play was if they couldn't say it! Yet, the rule changed the climate of her classroom in an extremely positive way and children who had been excluded the first few weeks of school found friends. She also asked a 4th grade classroom at the same time to try this ...