Queuing is a social conduct that we have to teach our early learners. I believe that it must be taken seriously just like other good virtues that we teach them. It is another important social skill that our kids NEED to learn in order to become responsible inviduals in the society now and as they grow up.
Many of us adults DO NOT observe this behaviour in ourselves and we care less by not properly doing so. Right?
What are the positive humanity-changing behaviours that we want to empower in queuing?
1. We want our kids to understand the meaning of Respect. Respect is an abstract behaviour. For younger kids they need to SEE and DO a real representation of respect.
2. Meaning of Patience. As the saying goes “Patience is a Virtue”. I strongly agree. It’s a skill that takes a lot of determination and discipline to put into practice in the way we interact with one another, inside our household or outside our community. And only a few people has mastered it. Therefore, training our kids to be patient while they are young is the best time.
3. We want them to learn how to be Polite. Saying and getting “thank you”, and “please” , means a whole lot of a nice day to others.
4. We want them to learn how to be mindful. Kids who are mindful, remain on their line and is alert to follow as the line goes forward. Accidents like stepping on someone else’s foot, tripping over, and other embarrassing scene will be avoided.
5. Instilling in them to be Considerate and to do an act of kindness for someone. Sometimes they will have to make decisions while queuing.
i.e. to let an old lady go first even though he is such in a hurry.
to stay in line though its 25 meters long.
6. We teach them to be organized.
Coaching Tips for teachers and parents:
This may sound simple to some but applying and doing it in real life situation is quite challenging.
1. Before going to the supermarket where you and your child need to queue, orient your child that there will be a queue, and the queue might be long and you will have to stand up the whole time. This is what we call pre-viewing the situation. It prepares children what to expect once they get there.
2. Before going to the school cafeteria, entering into the school bus, going to the science lab,(these are opportunities where they can practice queuing) give the children clear directions to line up properly. Teachers need to be consistent in implementing this simple rule.
3. Discuss about it. Talk about the pros if you queue properly and what will happen if you don’t? well, if you don’t there will be a big chance of hurting others.
4. While queuing, constantly remind your child to be mindful of the person standing behind and in front of him.
5. Most children get the big picture and understand challenging concepts we want to teach when presented with stories with moral lessons. We can use nice picture story books to support our lesson on queuing.
6. For teachers and parents, consistency is the key and stand up as their role models! There is no sense teaching them when you, yourself, do not adhere on it.
