No One Likes a Rat: Tales from a Lunch Supervisor

Tattle telling is staple of elementary school life. Yesterday was particularly bad, as it seems a higher number of "clients" in the "yard" were trying to ingratiate themselves with authority, or settle scores using the boss.

Most problems I have to deal with as a lunch supervisor have me torn two ways and tattle telling is a great example. You need the kids to come and tell you about their problems with other kids because they lack all the skills to deal with each other. We want to help them with that, or all problems will end up being fights. So you can't just dismiss their concerns. Yet they need to learn some independence and problem solving skills, or they will be a nightmare when they become adults, so you can't treat everything as a serious problem and solve it for them. Somehow they have to understand that that particular problem is not that serious and they should deal with it but that one is serious and they should talk to an adult.

Also, I hate tattle telling. My default would be to tell them to sort it out themselves, as most of their problems tend to be of the "Tommy won't stop looking at me" variety.So I have to watch this tendency, otherwise they will learn not to tell about anything.

Yesterday I had to deal with two of these not important incidents. Two girls come up to me with a complaint: