JumpStart Aardvark Day (3/4/24)

Sooo many choices for holidays today!  Aardvarks sounded the most fun, so here are some fun facts about them:

• Name means ‘earth pig’
• Feeds on mostly ants and termites
• Their tongue can be up to a foot long

​Big Idea: It’s inevitable that we are asked questions we’d rather not answer.  Maybe it’s been a bad day and someone asks, “How are you?” when they know something’s up and won’t take “fine” as an answer. Maybe someone asks a seemingly innocuous question, but the actual answer is long and involved, or perhaps someone asks a question and the answer is confidential.


Here are two things to remember the next time you find yourself in this situation:

1. Tell the truth.  It may not be the WHOLE truth, but make sure that what you say is not a lie.  Remember that people will hear what they want, and you can use that to your advantage.  
2. You don’t have to give up information you don’t want to.  Just because someone asked a question doesn’t mean you have to give up personal or confidential information.

So, what do you say?


If you are asked uncomfortable questions regularly, keep track of the most common, and create responses in advance.  Here are four techniques to help pseudo-answer a question you’d rather not answer:

1. Bridging.  Politicians are masters with this technique.  Let’s say you’re on the negotiating team, and someone knows you just had a meeting and asks for the scoop.

• Acknowledge the question.  “I’m glad you asked because we are taking this year’s negotiations very seriously…”
• ‘Bridge’ to something else:  “...I can’t give a lot of information on that right now, but what I can say is ______.”

 

1. Adjacent Answers.  When someone asks a question and you know that the real answer is more than they’re looking for, or more than you want to deal with at the moment, you can tell them something that’s true, but not exactly an answer to what they asked.  Since most questions are asked in passing, the questioner will probably take it as the actual answer to their question.  
   
   
   For example, someone asks, “How are you today?”  You’re not fine, so you don’t want to lie and you don’t want to get into a conversation, so you reply (for example), “Spot (your dog) didn’t chew up my shoe this morning before I could put it on, so that was a great start to the day!”  All that was true - you just didn’t get into the fact that after putting your shoes on, the day went downhill fast.
   
   
   
2. Just Say It.  Sometimes, people can’t (don’t?) take hints or pick up on social cues, so you have to be more direct.  Or maybe you just like this sort of answer.  In this case, use your “I Statements” and tell them you don’t want to answer:

• “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
• “I would prefer to talk about something else.”

 

1. Humor.  Use humor to let them know that you don’t want to answer without saying so:

• “Shhhh.  That’s a secret!”
• “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
• “If I only knew…”
• “That’s a very long story, and a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to explain.”

This week, try this:  Think about the questions you are commonly asked and you feel caught every time.  Take the time to formulate your answer in advance so you won’t feel like a awkward aardvark the next time.

Quote:  "Only a few people care.  The rest are just curious."  (Unknown)

Educator Resource:  March Book Study on TeachIllinois starts today (but it’s not too late to start!) - Implicit Bias: An Educator’s Guide to the Language of Microaggressions by Anni Reinking.  7 PD Hours (FREE!).

Educator implicit bias is often experienced by students of varying identities as microaggressions. In this book the authors define implicit bias and microaggressions, identify ways students of varying identities such as race, gender/LGBTQ+, religion, socioeconomic, ability, linguistic and family dynamics, experience microaggressions in schools, and offer an educator’s guide to using culturally responsive teaching as an antidote to microaggressions. We also provide specific ways to interrupt microaggressions in schools.

Anni Reinking is an Illinois author, and has presented at our Directions Conference several times.
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Dad Joke:  Did you hear about how people in Athens don't wake up until noon?  They say dawn is pretty tough on Greece.​