[0:00]Back in the classroom, there's a second extended period of free play.
[0:08]Eventually, an argument breaks out among Nao-chan and some other girls over the teddy bear. Pull it this way! Let go!
[0:19]We got it! We got it!
[0:25]She is taking it back!
[0:31]We got it! We got it! Morita-sensei from across the room: Stop it! Stop it!
[0:39]Nao-chan, it's not yours. It's Reiko's. From across the room, we hear Morita-sensei call out: 'Hey there.' But she doesn't come over to break up the fight. Many Chinese and U.S. viewers of this scene were critical of Morita-sensei's failure to intervene. When we asked her why she didn't intervene, Morita-sensei explained that she keeps a close eye on the children's fights and calls out to them. If things are getting out of control or dangerous. But she emphasized that her intervening would interfere with the children's learning to handle their own disagreements. The director of a kindergarten in Kyoto pointed out that although the children's ways of dealing with disputes might look a bit harsh to adults, what we see here is a typically child-like solution to a child-like social problem.
[1:20]When teachers intervene too quickly, children miss out on opportunities to experience complex social interactions and to find their own child-like solutions.
[1:36]Keep this promise or swallow a thousand needles! The solution the girls arrive at is for Nao-chan to promise in the future to share the bear and not attempt to keep it all to herself. Understand?
