A lot of people say, ” You can’t treat adults like children, it’s very different working with adults. ”
Well, to some extent, they’re right. But, as someone who has worked with young children ( from 4 – 11 ) and with adults, I can tell you that there are many ways in which they’re just the same.
We might like to think that we’re all grown up and mature and professional but some adults still behave the same way they did back in Primary School.
One
Adults, like children, will push you to see what they can get away with. They will try to find the boundaries of what’s acceptable.
For example, some people will turn up late for sessions or talk to their friends in class to see if you say anything. I’ve even had someone reading a newspaper in a training session when he’d finished a case study until I had a quiet word with him about it.
Two
On a similar topic ( naughtiness ), if one child ( or adult ) misbehaves, others will watch to see what you do about it. If you do nothing, some will start to follow their lead, others will want you to do something because they want to learn.
So you need to deal with bad behaviour quickly.
However – you need to be careful about how you do it because, if you come down too hard on the naughty ones, the others will rally behind them and they’ll all sulk.
This is why I had a quiet word with the newspaper reader rather than just setting fire to his paper to make an example of him.
Three
Adults, like chldren, will find ways of putting off things they don’t want to do.
Children will ask to sharpen their pencils ( which they then cut down to a tiny stump ) to avoid starting work. Or they’ll say they haven’t got any paper ( this may be dating me a bit ). Or they’ll ask to go to the toilet.
Adults are particularly good at wasting time when you ask them to go and work in groups. They’ll go and get a coffee on the way. They’ll wander around saying, ” Which group am I in? Which room am I in? ” Or they’ll go to the toilet ( some things never change ).
Four
You have to watch out for people bringing in their latest toys to show off to their friends.
With children, it used to be cars, dolls, little torches, key rings, anything they could smuggle in.
With adults, it’s mobile phones ( is that the new Nokia? ), Blackberries, iPads and netbooks.
Actually, these days, I think that’s probably the same with children.
Five
Adults, like children, need to get up and run about from time to time. They can’t sit still for long periods without getting fidgetty. They can’t listen for long without losing concentration – they need to talk, to move, to do something. Don’t expect them to learn without giving them a chance to speak, to move around, to interact, to get involved.
And they need regular breaks to just run around and shout outside ( or read comics if it’s wet playtime ).
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