This is not a drill
At least once per semester, my daughter’s school would practice fire and lock down drills (yeah, that’s a thing now). Depending on your geography, maybe even earthquake and tornado drills, too! These exercises are designed to teach response to emergencies. Ideal in concept, but in reality, kids simply go through the motions and don’t really get the lesson. Many see it as a treat to be taken out of the classroom to socialize. Even seemingly, orderly yet boisterous assembly, exit and reentry could take an hour to execute. To the faculty, it’s a disruption to the lesson plan; to the students, this discontinuation wreaks havoc on focus and learning. Other than satisfying the required fire codes, it’s a big time-suck. Even fire drills at the office are treated as inconvenience since many employees only pretend it is a real disaster and keep typing emails during the alarm!
But unless one trains every day, planning for real doesn’t always prepare one for the real thing. I’m not suggesting you deliberately set fire to the garden shed or bring mayhem to terrorize your children unnecessarily just to create a teaching moment. However, there are some real-life situations that don’t require any rehearsals and yet can be truly effective learning opportunities. My daughter and I discovered three situations where she learned far more than any drill.
I’m not suggesting you deliberately set fire to the garden shed or bring mayhem to terrorize your children unnecessarily just to create a teaching moment, but…
The bus broke down. My daughter on occasion takes public transit to school and back. I have taken her numerous times and have used different routes and buses. Then one day, the bus we were on truly broke down and we were told to exit. We were in the city so had easy alternatives. Once we stepped off the bus, I told my daughter to find a new route. She was very apprehensive at first but was comforted by the fact that I was there as a safety net. I asked her to gather her bearings first. Once she grounded herself, she tentatively asked me to confirm a new direction. It took extra time, but she eventually she got us to where we needed to go using a route that we’d never rehearsed. She was knowledgeable enough about the area and felt confident enough to plan accordingly. Sometimes, observing where the masses are heading is a good hint; at other times, it could lead to disaster. In this case, it confirmed her own hunch.
Find our boarding gate. We were travelling by plane to another city and after checking-in, I handed my daughter her boarding pass. “Now take us through security and find our terminal and gate.” In an airport, we were in the safest place on earth with plenty of security and personnel to direct lost travelers. I was always a few paces behind her and through some exploration and a bit of backtracking, she got us to our departure gate with plenty of time to spare. It was an adventure before the adventure and she felt very grown up!
Find our hotel. Using the same principle of looking back at my parked car (and even taking a picture of the nearby pole for landmark) so I remember where to return after a long day at the mall or a park, I always tell my daughter to turn around and look at the hotel entrance from across the street so she knows what the front door looks like. After an all-day outing and dinner in NYC, I asked my daughter to take us back to the hotel once we surfaced from the closest subway station. We went down a few well-lit streets and she remembered her mental breadcrumbs she had left from earlier in the day.
I like doing these things with my daughter as I feel these exercises are not only fun, but they are real. The consequence of getting on the wrong bus, missing the flight or not knowing where our hotel is has clearly defined negative outcomes. These situations are not just rehearsals, but crash courses for her to acquires valuable experiences she’ll use over and over again.
