Simon Commands You

There is a force in every child's life- a force which is almost more powerful than nature itself. And that force is called Simon. No matter the neighborhood or socio-economic status, the Word of Simon is obeyed without question by every child within earshot. And so, my colleagues and I have learned to harness the almighty power of Simon to use as a tool in our group management arsenal.

We have other tools to get the girls' attention and cooperation: "clap once if you can hear my voice...clap two times if you can hear my voice"....and so on until everyone is listening or "Hey Hey Girl Scouts!"....(hopefully followed by a chorus of "Hey Hey Miss Kim!"). But none work as unfailingly as The Word of Simon. "Simon says, put your hand on your head. Simon says, wave to your neighbor. Simon says, put you hand on your shoulder. Simon says, put your hand over your mouth and listen to these instructions." Its effectiveness is actually quite amazing. Its like the girls don't have a choice - they are compelled to do whatever Simon tells them, whether they want to or not.



My colleagues and I have been tapping into Simon's incredible power for years now, but we just stopped to marvel at it this week. It really never fails us. The room may have dissolved into utter pandemonium - crayons flying, shrieks and giggles filling the air - but if Simon's Word comes down, the compliance is swift and unyielding. No one is immune - from the super distracted child who is sitting on the floor picking crayon shavings out of the carpet to the tough-girl who is impressed by nothing and already thinks of us as "the man" at 7 years old. Everyone drinks Simon's kool-aid. I almost feel guilty for unleashing something so powerfully mind-controlling. Almost.