Everyone around here knows about my constant threat to have a tatoo done between my eyebrows that says, NO, since I can't seem to learn to say it for myself. Overcommitted and out of time....I am not a good role model. Pat Watson Middle Level Program Coordinator Texas Tech University
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Fri 12/14/2007 11:00 AM To: [email protected] Subject: lit Digest, Vol 26, Issue 2 Send lit mailing list submissions to [email protected] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/lit_literacyworkshop.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of lit digest..." Today's Topics: 1. the literacy of "no" (Bill IVEY) 2. Re: the literacy of "no" (Heather Poland) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:09:06 -0500 From: "Bill IVEY" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [LIT] the literacy of "no" To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi! I guess this is more of a "social literacy" question... I've been musing the past few days about an article by Laura Sessions Stepp (who wrote the excellent book on young adolescents, "Our Last Best Shot") that appeared in the Washington Post and was entitled "Why adults can't say 'no'." You can find it at: http://tinyurl.com/23h2to Part of what Ms. Stepp seems to be saying is that, while as parents and teachers we want kids to develop the strength of character to say "no" to obviously poor influences, like peers encouraging substance abuse for example, we don't so much want them to say "no" to us. Kids learn, then, that saying "no" is a highly risky proposition, even though it is undeniably the healthy thing to say in the right circumstances, and as a result perhaps "no" doesn't get said as often as it should, even into adult life. So actually, I have two questions. First, how good are you all at saying "no" and what makes it possible to do so when you do so? Second, how do our schools handle the notion of teaching kids how and when to say "no" - if we do at all? For that matter, should we even be teaching kids how and when to say "no"? Just a few musings on a snowy Thursday evening... Take care, Bill Ivey Stoneleigh-Burnham School ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:27:34 -0800 From: "Heather Poland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [LIT] the literacy of "no" To: "A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades." <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252 I don't think we should simply be teaching children to "say no." We need to be teaching children to think for themselves. To think about the consequences of their actions, and to make good choices based on information they have learned. On Dec 13, 2007 8:09 PM, Bill IVEY <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi! > > I guess this is more of a "social literacy" question... > > I've been musing the past few days about an article by Laura Sessions > Stepp (who wrote the excellent book on young adolescents, "Our Last Best > Shot") that appeared in the Washington Post and was entitled "Why adults > can't say 'no'." You can find it at: > http://tinyurl.com/23h2to > > Part of what Ms. Stepp seems to be saying is that, while as parents and > teachers we want kids to develop the strength of character to say "no" to > obviously poor influences, like peers encouraging substance abuse for > example, we don't so much want them to say "no" to us. Kids learn, then, > that saying "no" is a highly risky proposition, even though it is > undeniably the healthy thing to say in the right circumstances, and as a > result perhaps "no" doesn't get said as often as it should, even into > adult life. > > So actually, I have two questions. > > First, how good are you all at saying "no" and what makes it possible to > do so when you do so? > > Second, how do our schools handle the notion of teaching kids how and when > to say "no" - if we do at all? For that matter, should we even be teaching > kids how and when to say "no"? > > Just a few musings on a snowy Thursday evening... > > Take care, > Bill Ivey > Stoneleigh-Burnham School > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > <http://www.literacyworkshop.org/> > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." ?Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " ?Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org <http://www.literacyworkshop.org/> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive. End of lit Digest, Vol 26, Issue 2 **********************************
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