Earlier
this year I posed a question about complimenting students on things unrelated
to academics and how it affects the student’s performance within the
classroom. I personally feel that if I take the time to compliment a student on
something small, such as his/her shoes or his/her performance in a school
sport, it will help me indirectly develop a relationship with him/her that is
not centered around academics.
My personal
theory was demonstrated by the improved performance of a certain student in my
English/Language Arts classroom. James* is a particularly quiet and seemingly
sullen student. Our first unit of the semester has been about relationships and
in the past few weeks my mentor teacher and I have been posing questions such
as “what so relationships bring to your life?” and “how and why do these
relationships effect your life?” James was never able to come up with an answer
and he didn’t seem to believe the people in his life contributed much to his love or
happiness at all.
It is always
extremely heartbreaking to encounter a student who doesn’t seem to receive much
love or support at home. His struggle to answer these relationship related
questions or complete his homework in a timely manner confirmed that his home
life situation is not ideal. This realization explained his unenthusiastic
demeanor and poor participation in school. My mentor teacher and I noticed that
James was not being encouraged outside of school and this was causing him to be
unconfident in school and elsewhere.
After taking
notice, my mentor teacher and I decided that together we would make an extra
effort to make James feel noticed and appreciated in our classroom, not only by
praising his academic work, but by praising him as an individual. Although our
students follow a dress code, I made it a point to compliment him on his neat
appearance multiple times. My mentor teacher knew he was a member of the school
band, so he once made a comment about how the band teacher thinks James is a
great musician and since then he has asked him how band is going on many different occassions.
Furthermore, we have both tried to give him special jobs or responsibilities
during class, so we would have an opportunity to compliment him on a job well
done.
The results
have been astronomical. I have seen him smile more this last week, than I did
in the whole last month. He raises his hand, participates more during group
activities, and stays after class to ask questions or ensure he has time to
complete the homework! We would love to see him come out of his shell a little
more and gain more confidence with his peers, but it is still early in the
school year, and I believe my mentor teacher and I can definitely help him
reach that point. YAY!
Teaching is
about small victories. As a teacher, I have learned I cannot impact each
student overnight. Instead, I have accepted that it is a slower process, but most
certainly a worthwhile process. I have always known that teachers truly make a
difference in the lives of their students, but it has been so rewarding to see
this concept in action. I can only hope to continue making a difference one student
at a time.
*denotes name change
