Originally published at: Watch: Teacher lets kids pick "dance," "hug," or "fist bump" from a poster as they enter the classroom | Boing Boing
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That’s beautiful in so many ways. Today I choose a hug for all you Happy Mutants.
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This is so very excellent! Autonomy, personal boundaries, consent - great way to model that for the kids. 
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Would still prefer a sulkily shuffle-in to learn some stuff eyeroll …option
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There was also a bow option and two more. Delightful. Also, I don’t want any of those.
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Hugging little bitty human beings is like a cup of tea for my soul.
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Cranky bitterness warning:
Of course she’s joyful - she only has 17 kids! And she’s (apparently) allowed to high five, hug and dance with them, she isn’t afraid of being called out for “wasting time” on non-academic curriculum or “creating a disturbance in the hallway”. She isn’t afraid of being blamed for whatever mischief the kids get up to during their 20 seconds of being away from the teacher after they’ve already passed through the door… Maybe she isn’t the only adult with the class? I bet she’s never forced to use her planning or lunch period to serve as a last-minute substitute teacher. Seems like she doesn’t have to make any of the kids put a mask on, argue with their anti-masker parents who hover at the door every day, or constantly remind the kids to keep the mask on… Best of all, she isn’t afraid that her close contact with this group is causing her to contract and spread an airborne virus that could give one of them life-long health issues or kill someone in her immediate family… Who wouldn’t be joyful?
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Ok, I’ll be the grumpy old man here. Great, the kids get a choice of three actions. There doesn’t seem to be a “none of the above” choice, without which the first three are alternatives but not real choices. It’s a sort-of choice at best, just as it’s a sort-of-consent… which, as we’re likely all aware isn’t actually a choice and is definitely not consent.
The thought is good, I guess, by virtue of being better than not being able to pick the least of three evils, but nonetheless the outcome seems predetermined (ie, “you’re either gonna perform for me or touch me”). Maybe I’m reading it all wrong, but as someone not allowed many boundaries at all as a kid this makes me cringe.
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There were at least six options on the chart. Neither my phone nor my eyes have the picture clarity necessary to decipher what the unselected lowest two options might be. Even if neither one is an opt out, the bow seems to not be intrusive.
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Fair I guess. It just hits a little close to home for me.
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Is there an option for awkwardly stare at the ground and mumble something about good mornings?
That is my flavor of jam…
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These look like 6 or 7 year olds. Kids that age don’t need unlimited options, they need structured environments that helps them to learn about making choices. I also don’t know where this school is located, but in many cultures, respect for elders, including a proper greeting, is still valued and expected. A critical part of education that isn’t often thought about by many people is helping students to learn the cultural norms of society that someone will be participating in as an adult and that means learning how to interact with people. That is part of what she’s demonstrating to her students.
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A sulky shuffling sad emo dance still counts as a dance.
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One of them appears to be a wave, the other a hand shake.
Put me in the wave category, or give me the option to do this instead
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Totally understood. Somehow “do one of these things in order to gain admittance to this place that you had zero choice in deciding to attend and are not allowed to leave” just rings a little hollow or gratuitous or something. Heck, I’m still miffed that I got dropped onto the planet with no consent from myself. Might as well help the younglings learn the reality that “life is unfair by default” as early as possible.
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Wow. Sounds like you need a hug, but, well, you know…
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I’m sorry you had a shit time in school. You’re not the only one. But this is not some horrible abusive situation, it seems like, but a teacher hoping to engage all her kids and give them choices in how they interact with her. 
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It’s a conscious choice.
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You are making an awful lot of assumptions about what kinds of professional challenges this teacher deals with based on an undated 41-second video clip.
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