The teachers cringed as the birthday child's mother passed out cupcakes. She withheld a cupcake from each child, asking, "What do you say?" This was a violation of the preschool's social/emotional learning curriculum, developed with the belief it was better for children to understand gratitude and remorse before being required to use words like please, thank you, and sorry. Most 3-year-olds were not ready. They were just beginning to understand mad, sad and happy. Some children answered with the desired responses. Others just stared at her. She approached Nathan and tried. "What's the magic word?" He thought carefully. "Abracadabra?"
Jane Dagenais is a parent, teacher and former National Park Ranger who enjoys reflecting on those careers through micromemoir.