What do you see in the picture? Who you you see? Where are they? What do you think this story is about?
Passengers on a flight recently were surprised to receive a little zip lock bag with sweets inside. It wasn't a gift from the airline, it was a gift from one of the other passengers. They handed the bags out to all the other passengers before take off. There was also a note in the bag.
Why give out a small bag of sweets to passengers before a flight?
What do you think the note read?
The note read, "It's my first flight. I made a deal to be on my best behaviour- but I can't make any guarantees. I might cry if I get scared or if my ears start to hurt. Here are some treats to make your flight enjoyable. Thank you for being patient with us. Have a great flight."
Who do you think wrote the note?
Why write it?
Why can't they guarantee to be on their best behaviour?
How do you think the gift made passengers feel?
The story got a lot of reaction online. Many people felt the gift showed the parent was being considerate by apologising to everyone before flight in case their baby screamed.
What do you think?
Others responded to the note with frustration.
Why do you think some people felt frustrated?
Some people felt frustrated that the the parent felt they had to do this. Imagine getting a baby ready for their first flight and all the things you have to do, and now you're also making up 50 sweet bags for strangers!
"This is so sweet but also kind of breaks my heart that we live in a world in which parents feel the need to do that."
"That poor parent probably spent nights awake, nervous about that flight, thinking about ways to keep strangers happy."
"Just because some people have shamed parents in to believing that they need to apologise for their kids' absolutely normal behaviour. What an absolute gem of a parent."
"That parent took up valuable carry on luggage space for those treats."
There are different points of view here. Another argument is that it is not fair on passengers to suffer a screaming baby on a ten hour flight..
On the other hand, how do young children learn to behave if we don't take them out in public?
Many people supported the parent saying it was not their responsibility to make others feel comfortable on board:
"No parent should be apologising. Adults control their emotions, babies not."
"Dear new parents, no you don't have to do this. Your babies have the right to exist. We all know babies cry. We know you do your best."
One commented that a crying baby is far more stressful on the parent than on other passengers who can just crank up the volume on headphones."
What do you think?
Did the parent do the right thing?
How would you respond if you were on that plane?
Why is this about No Outsiders - who is the outsider in this story?
Which British Value is this about?
Do you want this assembly as a power point with Oracy sentence stems? To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every week, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org
No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat (scheme of work for primary schools)
Register to be a No Outsiders school (get access to members page with additional resources)
Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging
