David's Dilemmas
Meet David
My students LOVE David Shannon books. Many early childhood teachers question whether or not his books should be used because of its "negative" overtone. David is continuously getting in trouble and hearing, "NO, DAVID!" I decided quite quickly that the connection that children make with David and the problem solving discussions that occur are priceless learning opportunities. We use David books as a learning tool for solving problems. That is how I came up with David's Daily Dilemma. Each day my David puppet comes to class and shares a story dilemma. The children help David to solve his problem and encourage him to make better choices next time. My hope was that the children would start bringing their own dilemmas to share with David and they are. A few children have shared both school and home related dilemmas with David. Wonderful discussions occur with David and the whole class to support how the child could solve his/her dilemma. "Gordon Wells notes that young children find it easier to assimilate new ideas when they are presented in the form of a story and that even older students look to anecdotes to help them understand new concepts and link them to their lives" (as cited in Hamilton & Weiss, 2005, p. 2). Below are some interviews of stories with David, but these are only a snippet of what happens with David. I wish I could have a camera rolling continuously in my classroom because the impromptu occurrences are the real inspiring and motivating stories!
Inspiring AuthorDynisti loves to read David books over and over. When I presented the students with the opportunity to author their first book, Dynisti chose to model Shannon's book, David Goes to School. Notice the final page of the book where the author notes how to walk through the hallways. We often talk about why we walk down the halls with our finger on our lip and our hand on our hip. She has generalized this and is now sharing it through her own writing. She is intertwining her story of our school and what she experiences with David's character. She is linking her understanding of new concepts with her life experiences.
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David is Dishonest Adarius helps David with his dilemma about being dishonest. He also helps David learn to ask before touching another person's body.
Honesty is a fundamental virtue. "How is honesty best cultivated? Like most virtues, it is best developed and exercised in harmony with others. The more it is exercised, the more it becomes a settled disposition" (Bennett, 1993, p. 600). Practicing honesty and constant exposure is then my mission. Bennett further notes that, "Human beings need both practice and study over time to become persons of integrity and effective goodwill" (1993, p. 559). One may notice the Bucket Filler/Bucket Dipper anchor charts on the wall behind Adarius and David. We have decided that lying is the biggest bucket dipping thing a person can do. I tell the children that we all make mistakes and can apologize for them, but lying about it will affect someone's respect for you. Respect is a difficult concept for early learners, but we try to help them develop self-respect and respect for others through literature, modeling and the habits. The connection between honesty and respect is profound. In The Book of Virtues, Bennett writes, "Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect for others. Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others" (1993, p. 559). |
Biggest Bucket Dipping Thing Lies, lies, lies...the children demonstrate their knowledge about lying and bucket dipping through literature. I didn't share the entire video because of its length, but this snippet will share how we prepared for the text. What I appreciate about Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie is that it shares a realistic problem and the feelings experienced by all characters including: the liar, the victim, the teacher, and the family.
Thus, the text shows how essential both family and school are for to the development of a child. Bennett shares his perspective stating, "Parents often say, "Don't let me catch you doing that again!" and that is all right, but a good, honest life is more than that. Moral development is not a game of "Catch me if you can." It is better to focus clearly on what really matters: the kind of person one is" (1993, p. 600). How do the children learn to focus on 'the kind of person one is'? From us, from the influential adult models in their lives. As well, "If we want children to hear and understand and practice the truth about the moral way to behave, then we need to tell stories, not preach truth" (Norfolk & Norfolk, 2006, p. 14). I included this video as it ties well with Adarius' above teachings. |
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David Learns Patience Dynisti helps David learn patience, or self-control. We have read many stories about self-control and having patience. Kindergartners are still very egocentric so recognizing that there are other people waiting in line or wanting a turn is difficult. Bennett asserts that self-discipline "lies at the heart of the task of successful everyday behavior, whether it is controlling our tempers, or our appetites, or our inclinations to sit all day in front of the television. As Aristotle pointed out, here our habits make all the difference. Practice, of course, is the medicine so many people find hard to swallow...it's practice that brings self-control" (1993, p. 22).
So, again, we find practice essential for children to internalize or pick up this virtuous habit. Of course, modeling self-discipline is just as imperative. |