What Does Nice Mean?
My granddaughter was in third grade when she wrote me something of her fears about her teacher for the coming school year. “She’s new in our school so none of my older friends have had her, ” she explained, and I don’t know if she is nice or not.
I found myself wondering what “nice” means to a little school girl. Obviously it was a very real factor in her expectation of her own well-being in the classroom. But what images did “nice” evoke in her mind?
A few days later I had the opportunity to explore that with a child the same age as my granddaughter. We were talking about school, teachers, and so on, and I asked, “If you were to tell me your teacher is nice, what would you mean by that?” she wasn’t a quick-answer kid. She thought and thought and kept me waiting a few seconds before replying. “Nice, hummm.” she repeated the word, then said, “Well I think I would mean that my teacher is comfortable to be with. That’s what nice means.” She sounded satisfied with her explanation.
I thuoght, Yes. “Nice” is comfortable to be with, whatever the age or the relationship.
So Mom and Dad, think about being “nice” to your children and make them comfortable to be around you!
(sc)
Add comment December 11th, 2006
