walking the line

[fixitup]

question...what is the educational value in teaching children to walk in line? i had an epiphany while walking the the hall way at my school yesterday listening to the teachers reprimanding the kids for not walking in a straight line. I thought to myself, "when kids are 4, they instinctively walk in packs. then, we teach them to walk in lines.

Comments

[ninomit_arol]

um
to teach them that we live in an enlightened age where predators won't pick off the person at the end of the line?

its all about following orders and taking turns...

[megasus4]

Social order. Learning to follow rules. Assisting the teacher in being able to properly supervise them when they're in a situation that lends itself to misbehavior.

Understanding social rules is just as important a part of education as reading, writing, and arithmetic.

[stori_lundi]

I agree with social rules as well as just plain crowd management. With one class, it's not a big deal but get a few classes in the hallways going different directions and it's hard to tell who's in who's class. Plus it prevents kids from bumping into each other which could cause fights, taking off with another class, or taking off all together.

[fixitup]

Okay, I can understand keeping track of the kids if they're lined up rather than walking all over the place. My experience has always been with the younger crowd where most of them just learned to walk so I wasn't too concerned with lines, just that everyone was still standing. :)

[stori_lundi]

It's good to beat the individuality out of them at a young age so that they never miss it. ;)