A rule that makes no sense
A rule at school seems to punish everybody for something one person did.
What do you do?
Life Skills · Practice · Grades 3 to 5
Chapter 8: Community
Say something, or tell somebody who can.
Say something, or tell somebody who can.
2 situations to decide. There is often more than one good answer: pick one and see what happens.
A rule that makes no sense
What do you do?
Somebody being picked on
What do you do?
Some things are unfair to everybody — a rule that makes no sense. Some are unfair to one person, because of who they are. The second kind is more serious.
You do not need a speech. "That is not fair" or "that is not kind" is usually enough to change a room.
If you cannot fix it, find an adult who can. That is not tattling — it is the thing to do.
Unfairness because of somebody’s skin, religion, family, or how they look or speak is always worth telling an adult about.
Question 1 of 1
Somebody is being treated badly because of where their family is from. What do you do?
Something to do away from the screen. Nobody is checking.
Why: In the moment nobody thinks of the right words. Having them ready is what makes speaking up possible.
The distinction between a badly designed rule and targeted unfairness is worth making explicitly, because children apply "that is unfair" to both and adults then discount all of it.
Discriminatory behavior needs a clear, unambiguous instruction to report — the ambiguity in "work it out yourselves" leaves children carrying something they should not.
How you respond when your child reports something like this determines whether they report the next one. Taking it seriously the first time is the whole investment.