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‘No convincing’: Teacher praised for getting to the heart of ‘no means no’ lesson
The important one-sentence rule, “no means no” remains one of the most steadfast lessons for human beings. It has been a key learning tool, frankly, for all people, whether kids or adults, men or women, young or old, etc. But over time, those words, while still true and necessary, have become cliché to some. Some seem to think they can push a boundary until the “no” became a “yes.”
An Instagram Reel has recently begun circulating showing a man in front of a group of young, male students. He is role-playing with a woman and asking her for a hug. She says, “No,” but he keeps pushing and then attempts to gaslight her into thinking it’s “crazy” she doesn’t want said hug. He then turns to the students and asks, “What just happened?”
View this post on Instagram A post shared by King Randall, I. (@newemergingking)
Learning boundaries
The students begin answering. One young boy says, matter-of-factly, “After she said ‘no,’ you kept asking and asking.” This was indeed the point, and they got it quickly.
“What is that called? Boundaries. Everybody say boundaries,” the instructor says. The young men comply. “’No’ is a complete sentence. That goes for anybody. You, your friends, your homegirl, your mama, whatever. If somebody tells you no, what does no mean?” They answer in unison, “No.”
And it’s here that he really drives the point home. He asks, “Does that mean (you should) try to convince somebody? Does that mean do it anyway? Does that mean catch an attitude because they told us no?” The classroom erupts with a resounding, “No sir” to each question. “The most respectful thing you can do as a young man is, when somebody tells you no, is to say…okay.”
He gives another example through role-play by asking the woman if he can borrow her phone. She says no, and he pushes, “Why not?” He continues to elevate the mock conversation before turning back to the class. “Talk to me. What did I do wrong?” One answers, “You had an attitude.”
Not here for ‘convincing’
He then shifts back to the main takeaway he wishes for the kids. “The word is ‘convincing.’ Say with me…’convincing.’ We are not here for that, understand that? We are not doing any convincing. If somebody tells us no, that is IT. We leave it there, especially when it has something to do with their body or their things. You understand that?”
He ends by showing the correct way to have an interaction. Again, he asks, “Can I have a hug?” She says no, and he replies, “Alright, cool.” He adds, “What will gain me more respect is if I respect her saying no. Being respectful is simply the right thing to do.”
Solve for ‘X’
The class in the clip is from a nonprofit group called The X for Boys. Their purpose, according to their website, is to instill honor, education, and accountability in boys who enter their prep-school program. It was founded by 24-year-old King Randall, I, aka @Newemergingking online. His bio shares he saw issues in the community and wanted to help solve them: “Seeing a need to help enhance and advance the lives of the young men in his community, he set out to take action to combat the high poverty and crime rates in the southwest Georgia city.”
On the clip, Randall writes:“She told me no… and I kept trying to convince her anyway.That’s the problem.So we showed the boys what not to do.We’re not here to convince anybody.No means no. It’s a complete sentence.Respect isn’t something you do to get something back — it’s something you do because it’s right.”
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The commenters are incredibly supportive about this vital lesson. One writes, “This is so powerful. Small, simple steps early with young boys can move mountains with protecting everyone. Thank you for putting in the work.”
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