The Cooper School Daily
January 26, 2024
No…No…No…
“Ms Lindsay can I….?” My response, “No, no, no.”
“Should I say this ridiculous thing out loud? Again, my response, “No, no, no.”
Run in the halls? Response, “No, no, no.”
To be frank, I have been trained to refrain from no! Positive discipline encourages explaining what you want the child or adolescent to do instead of just flat out saying, “NO!” For example, “Put your feet on the ground, “ instead of saying “NO! Stop climbing the fence!” As much as I do practice this positive vernacular to guide behavior that is expected, I am finding a new respect for just a plain, direct, and affirmative NO!
Starting out as a friendly inside joke in one of my classes, before I knew it, the phrase “no, no, no” was not just implemented by me, but the kids too. It was heard in a British accent, slow, fast, silly, and even very sternly. If someone was being loud, unkind, disruptive, I could just look at them and they knew what three word phrase was about to come. It became the hip phrase of the week somehow and honestly, behavior was noticeably better.
Why? According to Psychology Today, there is a lot of power in the word “no,” which is easily misunderstood and sometimes difficult to engage because it is confused with negativity. Where negativity is an attitude, “no” is an affirmation of a very clear choice. It is a clear boundary between the person stating it and the influence of others, which is why it can be challenging to say, specifically in social situations. However, when the kids clearly heard “no,” they knew what they were doing was not ok. They may not have known what to do to replace the behavior, but they at least knew to stop what they were doing.
I played with “No, no, no,” in my out of school life too last week. “Linds, do you want to …?” If it wasn’t a heck ya, my response was “no, no, no.” I noticed that giving myself permission to use the phrase did indeed affirm a clear boundary, which seemed to be received respectfully because I was blatantly honest and concise, maybe because I said it in a British accent. LOL
Why do we say it three times? Ask Amy Winehouse 😀
-LD
What’s happening in Science?
Fifth graders explored the difference between instinctive and learned behaviors. They learned about the central nervous system and how the body processes signals from the environment. The fifth graders came up with examples of how the brain receives stimulus information and then responds. The fifth graders also continued to observe and record changes they noticed in their samples taken of places they thought bacteria could be growing in the classroom. Next week, they will have the opportunity to swab the whole school for places they think bacteria and fungus could be living.
What’s happening in Math?
This week 5th graders multiplied decimals by whole numbers and by other decimals before taking a quiz on Thursday. On Friday, they began exploring division of decimals, which we will expand on next week. On Thursday, we will review decimal division before taking their test on Friday, February 2nd!
What’s happening in ELA?
5th grade transitioned back to vocabulary this week and put their debate hats on for the new writing unit! We began by pouring over resources that outlined the debate over chocolate milk – a healthy alternative or just plain unhealthy? We learned that forming a strong opinion means examining all sides of an argument, and that we did, with strong notes and probing questions.
Next week, 5th graders will draft, rewrite, and publish final arguments on the milk debate and present them with gusto in class!
What’s happening in Social Studies?
The fifth graders have been working diligently in preparation for their midterm assessments. Students were challenged to reflect upon studies from the beginning of the year in order to work through a study guide that will help aid them in preparation for the exam on Monday.
Next week, the students will begin by completing their midterm. This will lead us into our next unit which focuses on the Middle Ages of Europe through Early Modern Europe. We will be studying the middle ages, the crusades, renaissance, and the enlightenment.
Important Dates:
Saturday, January 27 5:30pm-9:00pm – Family Fun Outing – Carolina Stingrays Game
February 14th- Valentine’s Day Book Fair, Bake Sale and Bingo!
February 19th & 20th- February Break
“Should I say this ridiculous thing out loud? Again, my response, “No, no, no.”
Run in the halls? Response, “No, no, no.”
To be frank, I have been trained to refrain from no! Positive discipline encourages explaining what you want the child or adolescent to do instead of just flat out saying, “NO!” For example, “Put your feet on the ground, “ instead of saying “NO! Stop climbing the fence!” As much as I do practice this positive vernacular to guide behavior that is expected, I am finding a new respect for just a plain, direct, and affirmative NO!
Starting out as a friendly inside joke in one of my classes, before I knew it, the phrase “no, no, no” was not just implemented by me, but the kids too. It was heard in a British accent, slow, fast, silly, and even very sternly. If someone was being loud, unkind, disruptive, I could just look at them and they knew what three word phrase was about to come. It became the hip phrase of the week somehow and honestly, behavior was noticeably better.
Why? According to Psychology Today, there is a lot of power in the word “no,” which is easily misunderstood and sometimes difficult to engage because it is confused with negativity. Where negativity is an attitude, “no” is an affirmation of a very clear choice. It is a clear boundary between the person stating it and the influence of others, which is why it can be challenging to say, specifically in social situations. However, when the kids clearly heard “no,” they knew what they were doing was not ok. They may not have known what to do to replace the behavior, but they at least knew to stop what they were doing.
I played with “No, no, no,” in my out of school life too last week. “Linds, do you want to …?” If it wasn’t a heck ya, my response was “no, no, no.” I noticed that giving myself permission to use the phrase did indeed affirm a clear boundary, which seemed to be received respectfully because I was blatantly honest and concise, maybe because I said it in a British accent. LOL
Why do we say it three times? Ask Amy Winehouse 😀
-LD
What’s happening in Science?
Fifth graders explored the difference between instinctive and learned behaviors. They learned about the central nervous system and how the body processes signals from the environment. The fifth graders came up with examples of how the brain receives stimulus information and then responds. The fifth graders also continued to observe and record changes they noticed in their samples taken of places they thought bacteria could be growing in the classroom. Next week, they will have the opportunity to swab the whole school for places they think bacteria and fungus could be living.
What’s happening in Math?
This week 5th graders multiplied decimals by whole numbers and by other decimals before taking a quiz on Thursday. On Friday, they began exploring division of decimals, which we will expand on next week. On Thursday, we will review decimal division before taking their test on Friday, February 2nd!
What’s happening in ELA?
5th grade transitioned back to vocabulary this week and put their debate hats on for the new writing unit! We began by pouring over resources that outlined the debate over chocolate milk – a healthy alternative or just plain unhealthy? We learned that forming a strong opinion means examining all sides of an argument, and that we did, with strong notes and probing questions.
Next week, 5th graders will draft, rewrite, and publish final arguments on the milk debate and present them with gusto in class!
What’s happening in Social Studies?
The fifth graders have been working diligently in preparation for their midterm assessments. Students were challenged to reflect upon studies from the beginning of the year in order to work through a study guide that will help aid them in preparation for the exam on Monday.
Next week, the students will begin by completing their midterm. This will lead us into our next unit which focuses on the Middle Ages of Europe through Early Modern Europe. We will be studying the middle ages, the crusades, renaissance, and the enlightenment.
Important Dates:
Saturday, January 27 5:30pm-9:00pm – Family Fun Outing – Carolina Stingrays Game
February 14th- Valentine’s Day Book Fair, Bake Sale and Bingo!
February 19th & 20th- February Break