Friday, March 11, 2016

Praising Teachers Who Are Swimming Against the Current

Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement -- and we will make the goal.       ~Jerome Fleishman

Do teachers in your school feel like they are swimming against the current in the flood of spring testing? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated when test prep gets prioritized, pushing real teaching to the back burner. During stressful times, praise can help teachers find their happy spot – the reason they come to school every morning!

At this time of year, it’s especially important to be on the lookout for praiseworthy actions. “To praise is an investment in happiness,” said newspaper columnist George Adams. We invest in a teacher’s happiness account when we notice and note something good happening.

Here’s an email I just sent to Amber, a teacher I’m working with:

“Thank you for your thoughtful comments during the meeting this week. It was clear that you were really thinking about the content, and it pushed our discussion to a higher level.”

Sending the email took less than a minute, but I think it will pay big dividends not only in the teacher’s happiness account, but in our relationship as well. I also think she’ll be encouraged to make similar contributions in the future, which will benefit the group’s collaboration.

Praise is especially helpful when it enhances competence without relying on social comparisons. I didn’t have to tell Amber her comments were better than somebody else’s. I just plain told her they were good.

I don’t know what private troubles Amber may be swimming against right now, but I do know that testing stress is adding to her worries. A little praise may help to calm the waters.

As John Gardner proffers, “To help others believe in themselves is one of a leader’s highest duties.”


This week, you might want to take a look at:

How specific praise improves learning for students:



This post (which recommends a useful read-aloud about fueling up for standardized tests):



Ideas for PD that helps teachers reframe their labels to have more positive perceptions of students:



Free downloadable ebook of million-dollar words (fancy words that are fun to know, with easy-to-understand definitions):



How to coach for authentic literacy-in-math learning:


That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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