The Problem With Show and Tell
This year, Show and Tell taught me something I wasn't expecting.
The kids loved it. I loved it too. Every Friday, children proudly shared stuffed animals, card collections, family photos, trophies, 3D-printed creations, and treasures from home. The excitement was real.
But as the year went on, I started noticing something else. Some children brought something almost every week. Some children rarely brought anything at all. I reminded students they could share a joke, a story, a drawing, a talent, or something they had learned. And some did. But standing in front of your classmates and telling a joke is not quite the same as holding up something special from home. The children knew it. I knew it.
There were a few tears. There were moments when I could see disappointment on a child's face. There were children who desperately wanted to participate and did not have something to bring.
Looking back, I don't think I fully considered that when I started the tradition. I was focused on the joy. I wasn't thinking enough about who might experience it differently.
That doesn't mean Show and Tell was a mistake. But it does mean I can't unsee what I noticed.
That's when I started wondering: Can something be both fun and exclusionary?
I think the answer is yes.
And I think elementary teachers run into this more often than we realize. Spirit weeks. Holiday celebrations. Show and Tell. The goal is usually joy. But sometimes the children who benefit most from belonging are also the children most likely to feel exposed by the very things meant to create excitement.
I don't have a neat answer for that. I'm not writing this because I think we should eliminate fun. Children deserve joy. School should be joyful.
I'm writing this because I think noticing matters.
The longer I teach, the more I realize that creating fun and creating belonging are not always the same thing. But I'm also learning that they don't have to be opposites. It is possible to create experiences that are both fun and equitable. It just takes intention.
And when fun and belonging seem to come into conflict, I hope I keep paying attention. I hope I keep listening. Because I'm becoming less interested in creating activities that some children enjoy and more interested in creating joy that every child can access.
