Fights are common
in preschool: in a world where children are just beginning to form conceptions
of sharing and empathy, personal space is constantly invaded, communal tubs of
paint constantly upset, and toy animals constantly commandeered. As the students
in one of A.O. Sexton’s classrooms, where I am part of Jumpstart sessions twice
a week, learn to interact with another, with their new Jumpstart friends, and
with the ever-more regulated educational day, they are developing behavioral
skills which will help them succeed. However, this process of developing
interpersonal skills is by no means easy or fast for children, who are still
learning that when others’ feelings are hurt, it is the same as when one’s own
feelings are affronted. [...]
