Going Native?

As I have spent 6 months at the local kindergarten and elementary and junior high schools, I have encountered many problems that appear irrelevant to my own research: kids who don't study, kids who cause troubles, kids with disabilities, parents who don't take good care of their kids, etc. Recently, I spend a fair amount of time dealing with these issues when I go to the kindergarten and the schools. For example, instead of asking children my own (research) questions, I listen to them and talk with them about their own concerns.

Initially, I resisted this, for I thought I would lose time to collect data; however, talking and interacting with kids on their own terms, I began learning various social and educational issues that might become my research topics in the future. And I think I can afford to take this "detour" now because my data collection has been going fairly well, though I need to conduct more in-depth interviews with elementary, junior high school, and college students.

Anyway, I have about 4 months left for my fieldwork. I will try to learn from "natives" as much as I can.