At lunch, Dyson, a kindergartner, raised his hand to get the attention one of the cafeteria monitors.
Miss Kara bent over and read his name tag. “Yes, Dyson?”
“Miss Kara, that boy over there is sticking his tongue out at me. I don’t like it. Is that bad?”
“Dyson, no, that’s not a good thing at all. I’ll go over…”
“What does it mean, Miss Kara? What does him sticking his tongue out mean?” Dyson asked.
Miss Kara stood tall and looked around.
“Huh, Miss Kara, what does it mean?” Dyson asked again.
Miss Kara squinted and said, “Dyson, it’s just one person telling another person that he doesn’t like him without needing to say a word. That’s all.”
Dyson looked at the food in front of him and nodded a bit. He thought about what she had said.
“Well, that’s not nice at all, Miss Kara. That’s mean. He should stop it.”
She smiled at the innocent but practical response.
“No, it isn’t nice, Dyson. It is very mean. I’m going over there right now to talk to him about it.”
Children usually get it right when they've had a situation explained in plain words they can understand.