We never stop pushing limits

I was intrigued to hear a friend's story last week about following a marked RCMP vehicle on the highway at exactly the speed limit, and attempting to pass the officer at slightly higher than the speed limit.

For those who are curious about the result of this experiment,

It turns out that police do not appreciate being passed above the posted limit,

and it resulted in a stern warning from a very disappointed officer.

Upon sharing this story with a different friend I was immediately met with another version of the exact same scenario, but with a different person, on a different road.

As you may have guessed this yielded a very similar result, one very bewildered officer and a large monetary fine.

After years of teaching most grade levels, and working with adults through a range of industries, here are a few of my own hypothesis regarding human behaviour:

• Peoples’ general nature and attitude remain consistent from childhood into adulthood (people generally change very little)

• For better or worse, the apple usually falls very near the tree.

• Adults are often less mature in many ways than their school yard counterparts, and

• People never really stop testing boundaries and limits.

When I find myself getting too frustrated with kids repeatedly testing rules, I try to stay pragmatic regarding expectations, behaviours, and my own reactions.

Be patient, yet vigilant, as pushing boundaries is part of our human programming, and as we know, it will not likely fade away into adulthood.

• Now that’s a peak ethos.