Lesson taught. Lesson practiced.
Lesson Taught:
While working on the school bottle cap art project, Tess led her group in designing the bottle cap lay out of a flower. The visiting artist suggested they use a few larger size caps. Tess and her group did not like the idea.I suggested they tell the artist they would like the original design. Tess responded "no, that's arguing". I explained that stating your position respectfully is not arguing. With encouragement, Tess stated her position to the artist who said they could leave the design since they had a reason for creating it as they did.
Tess wanted to spend Saturday night at a friend's house. I said no because she had been with friends since Friday after school. She called back later and said "I'm not arguing with you, I just want to know why I can't stay." I explained and told her to be home by 8:00. When I picked her up, she asked me to explain it in different words. I did so. A few minutes later she came up with more reasons she should have been allowed to stay. All The Fabulous:
- All of the discussion occurred in what we call our "regular" voice.
- It was not an argument, it was a discussion.
- I got to see a life lesson played out in front of me. Wow.
- My daughter is learning to be respectfully assertive. Wow.
