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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