MISPERCEPTIONS.

Perceptions.  They are all around us.  Working in an environment with children, I am very used to wrong or incorrect understandings of something, whether it be an instruction, an academic process or a simple gesture.  I must admit, I also have moments when I misinterpret behaviors, words, and actions.  This has made me learn to pause, ask and to make sure I am not confused in what I am perceiving.  Sometimes, I might find out, pleasantly, that  I was wrong, and that my emotions were causing me to  misperceive a moment.  For example, when students are chatting during independent reading time, but what is actually happening is that they are sharing their thoughts on the book because they are really into it.  Another example, when a student is at their desk holding up the transition to get quickly and quietly into a line, and you realize they are not wasting their time, they are scrambling to find the correct way to divide.  Lastly, when you jump quickly to conclusions that “mischief had been managed”, when actually there is a clear, logical explanation.  Misperceptions can come from avoidance.  Avoidance of confrontation or avoidance of clarification.  Children are often scared to confront or clarify, and we need to remember that.  Modeling and admitting when we are wrong, and how to take the steps to confront and clarify something we have misperceived is an important life skill.  After all, you never know how damaging a misperception can become.