Lessons from the Lunch Room: Forgiveness

I've taken a very part-time job at a local elementary school as a lunch room monitor. That means I get to walk around with a walkie-talkie for about an hour and a half and make sure the kids get safely from the kitchen to their seats to the playground. It also means I interact with grade schoolers on a day-to-day basis. People are so interesting -- at any age.

My third day on the job and I had my first "mediation." Here's how it went down...

Boy 1: "That guy is telling everyone not to play with me."
Me: "Which guy?"
Boy 1: "That one" (pointing).
Me: "Hey, you in the white T-shirt, come here...Are you telling people not to play with him?"
Boy 2: "Yes."
Me: "Why?"
Boy 2: "Because he came to my house and showed me something he wasn't supposed to and said something else he wasn't supposed to. That's all I can say because there's people around. But I'm just trying to warn my friends."
Me: "This sounds like something you should discuss with the principal."
Boys 1 & 2: "No!"
Me: "OK...well, did he apologize for doing that?"
Boy 2: "No."
Boy 1: "Yes I did!"
Me: "Well, apparently he didn't hear you the first time. Why don't you apologize again."
Boy 1: "I'm sorry."
Boy 2: "OK."
Me: "There. It's over with now. You (looking at Boy 2) don't have to play with him, but you need to stop telling other people not to."
Boy 2: "OK."