The Impact of That is so Easy!

Congratulations to our chorus performers. They did an amazing job making everyone feel happy and peaceful in the audience. Their songs and energy filled the room with glee! They should be very proud of themselves!

Today's open circle topic was based on the impact of the phrase, "That's so Easy." The students were given a polynomial problem on the board and they all tried, and it probably did not help that I kept saying it was so easy to solve as all you needed to do was find the common denominator to help factor and simplify it. Kudos to several of our students for admitting it was too hard and they could not do it. That is a big step for children! We often are given assignments and think it is easy or if it is challenging we do not say anything and listen to those around us. 

We discussed why kids say that phrase. It could be because the topic is easy to them or they want to be cool and fit in. Others might say it to make another child feel less about themselves. They might want people to think they are smart. However the impact of that phrase lingers on. It makes kids feel like they cannot do something. It could ruin grades later on because people become defeatists. It could also ruin your day. 

We are going to work very hard to NOT use this phrase in here. We have some real talented children who know a lot and have wonderful attributes. We should celebrate that instead of making others feel bad about it. So what if some of us have to work a little harder. It becomes easier once you put the time in. We talked about how our students have unique talents and they make our classroom a better place. Just because something is easy for one does not mean we cannot do it. We all have different things that we find easier.

I look forward to working with students on stopping this phrase. One student mentioned it should be called the Big Easy and maybe it should.