In the preschool classroom I volunteer in, a little boy was asked to share his toy, and although he was initially irritated with the situation and did not want to share, he realized that he and his friend could trade toys and was willing to do it. I observed this interaction and understood that they were both willing to share, however, one of the boys tossed his toy to his friend to catch but it hit him in the head instead and caused him to cry. The teacher only witnessed the boy getting hit by the toy and assumed he was bullying and being aggressive, when that was not his intention at all. I knew the boys intentions and the fact that the two had come to an understanding. However, the teacher only observed the behavior and assumed the worst.
I believe that external, observable behavior is only a starting point. Although a person's behavior and their actions are the only things we can see, it is not everything. It is true we cannot always know what is going on in someone's mind, in my opinion, it is still very important because that is what their true intentions are. Intentions and understandings are what motivate behavior and cause us to act in a certain way. Although they may be misperceived by someone else or not acted out in the most effective way, I still believe that what is guiding our actions is the most important thing.
Yes, I also work at a preschool. There was one time where I saw this boy hitting a another boy in the classroom. I automately thought it was the boys fault. I told him to say sorry. but later found out that the other boy hit him first. I just assumed that he did just by observing his behavior.
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