Teacher’s Corner

Five Positive Things about Students Saying “No”

1. When students  say “no” it’s a sign that they know what they want.  You have to know what you want to be able to plan for having what you want.

2. They are beginning to think for themselves.  You have to think for yourself to be able to plan ahead.

3. They can be annoyingly persistent when they are saying no.  Waiting is all about being persistent. You are able to wait because you trust yourself to stay on task and believe you will reach your goal eventually.

4. Being able to wait means you have to know what you want and how much you want it, plan for how to get it and then stick to a plan and persist until you get it.

5. These are all things teachers want their students to learn.

Writing Prompts and Discussion Topics 

The following are based on the blog, “Teaching Kids to Wait – Part 2. “

1. It’s important to know what you want in life. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not?

2. How are knowing what you want in life and planning ahead related?

3. How are thinking for yourself and planning ahead related?

4. What is “grit”? How is it related to knowing what you want in life?

Teachers, you can use this blog in classrooms. Here are two ideas about how.

1. For middle or high school parenting or child development courses:

• Use the blog for discussion topics

• Require students to research the topics and agree or disagree with what the blog is suggesting.

2.  For all courses, especially English Language Arts:

• Use the blog for writing prompts for paragraphs, theme papers, journal entries, class starters, etc. Have students read the blog and respond to:

  • Do you agree with what is being said about kids? Do kids really act, think or feel that way?

  • Do you agree with what is being said about parents, grandparents, teachers and child caregivers? Do or should they act, think or feel that way?

  • What would be your advice on this topic?

  • What was left out of this article?

  • If you were a parent, would you use any of this information? How?

Why can this blog be a useful teaching tool?

• Students that see connections between their coursework and their lives do better in school.

• Most students will either be parents one day or have children in their lives that they care about, so the topical information can help them build their knowledge about children and parenting and develop a positive image of the type of parenting they want to do.

• The new core literacy standards adopted by most states call for frequent writing in all courses.

• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can think critically. These prompts help students practice critical thinking.

• Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can analyze what they read. These prompts help students practice analysis.