“Well done, and this is how you might do that better.”
The class who heard this mantra most was building rockets in its effort to compete in the Team America Rocketry Challenge. To qualify for the national level of competition it needed to produce an entry superior to anything it had already done and “good was just not good enough.” Some of my best students, kids that were a joy to work with, complained that it was impossible to satisfy me. “Well, not impossible,” I replied, “Just almost impossible.” The class and I discussed it as a group. I explained that when I used the phrase, “Well done, and this is how you might do that better,” I really meant it. They were making impressive progress and I wanted them to enjoy the journey, but we were launching rockets in southwest Michigan in an effort to qualify for finals in Virginia and I wanted them to feel the pressure of the many and difficult obstacles that lay in front of them. There is a video of this effort posted under the Introduction to Aerospace tab on this website. The link is Here. We did produce our best score ever with this 2012 class. We did not qualify to go to Virginia but we did graduate an outstanding group of young men and women who are even now pressing toward still higher goals. To my former students I say “Well done.” It’s no longer my place to tell them how they might do better. I trust there are others in their lives who are doing exactly that.
However, my current students are, my students. They need to get accustomed to the phrase, “Well done, and this is how you might do that better.” Getting the right balance of encouragement and correction is an art. The imperfections of teachers and students cause us to miss often. A close paraphrase from a long past principal, “One kid needs a hug and the other needs a kick. Sometimes it’s hard to know which and when.”
As I wrestle with my own efforts to both admonish and inspire my students I’ve found help using a simple formula, one provided by my current principal. Some educator unknown to me, has determined that we ought to praise our students three times more often than we correct them. The three to one ratio is of course arbitrary but I accept fully that it provides a reference point by which we can monitor the way we interact with our students.
It’s been I think a full two years now that my principal has been making observations of my own applications of this objective. His attention has drawn my attention and I find the focus to be only positive. I’ve always known that everyone needs both affirmation and renovation and teachers, like parents, must not fail in either of these duties. I need to be and am trying to be more intentional about it. Now I have reason to believe I am making a little progress.
There are just two essential components to this.
Easy to Please. Notice when kids get it right. I am not embracing trophies for participation. The error there is one of scale. Trophies have meaning conditionally. Dispensed too readily they are mere trinkets, regardless of mass or volume. I am simply calling for a scaled response to progress. We make a fuss when a baby takes her first step. We don’t celebrate every single step after that. That’s as it should be. Still, a child who takes their first step a great deal later than expected should still get their moment of glory. “Well done and well done and well done.”
We have a great many firsts occurring in our classrooms. It is a pity if they are coming much later than they should have. Regardless we need to notice these. A pat on the back. A word of encouragement. A drawing of attention. Now and then, sometimes, a reward. Can you remember some accomplishment, maybe long ago, that someone noticed and told you they noticed? It stays with you doesn’t it? It made you want to do it again, only better.
There is more. They are our students. They are here for a purpose.
Hard to Satisfy. The human condition is one of tension. Jacques Maritain suggested that each person is a “horizon where two worlds meet.” We struggle with what we are now and what we are certain we were created to be. We meet these horizons in our classroom everyday. We want and need to both affirm them and propel them forward. No student, as no teacher, is all that they should be. We should teach our students that our corrections are not designed to lessen them. Just the opposite. An accurate measure never diminishes the object being measured. I’ve had more than a few students, and an occasional parent, suggest that I am militaristic in my discipline. I am sure that is hyperbole but I use the comparison to make this point. Why are drill sergeants so tough with young recruits? Is it deep seated hatred? Is it their intention to destroy them? We know better. Just the opposite. It is all about being prepared for whatever great battle may come.
I believe that a sound education equips a person to better respond to the inevitable challenges and difficulties in front of them. I am trying to use the right praise to correction ratio. I won’t always get it right. While I practice this art, my students should expect to hear often and learn to interpret, “Well done, and this is how you might do that better.”
*I’ve borrowed this marvelous phrase from George MacDonald, one of my favorite writers. I intend its use to be amplification and not arrogation. He used the phrase to describe God. Neither my claim nor my purpose is to emulate divinity, though a humble even if weak reflection seems to me simple duty.
The class who heard this mantra most was building rockets in its effort to compete in the Team America Rocketry Challenge. To qualify for the national level of competition it needed to produce an entry superior to anything it had already done and “good was just not good enough.” Some of my best students, kids that were a joy to work with, complained that it was impossible to satisfy me. “Well, not impossible,” I replied, “Just almost impossible.” The class and I discussed it as a group. I explained that when I used the phrase, “Well done, and this is how you might do that better,” I really meant it. They were making impressive progress and I wanted them to enjoy the journey, but we were launching rockets in southwest Michigan in an effort to qualify for finals in Virginia and I wanted them to feel the pressure of the many and difficult obstacles that lay in front of them. There is a video of this effort posted under the Introduction to Aerospace tab on this website. The link is Here. We did produce our best score ever with this 2012 class. We did not qualify to go to Virginia but we did graduate an outstanding group of young men and women who are even now pressing toward still higher goals. To my former students I say “Well done.” It’s no longer my place to tell them how they might do better. I trust there are others in their lives who are doing exactly that.
However, my current students are, my students. They need to get accustomed to the phrase, “Well done, and this is how you might do that better.” Getting the right balance of encouragement and correction is an art. The imperfections of teachers and students cause us to miss often. A close paraphrase from a long past principal, “One kid needs a hug and the other needs a kick. Sometimes it’s hard to know which and when.”
As I wrestle with my own efforts to both admonish and inspire my students I’ve found help using a simple formula, one provided by my current principal. Some educator unknown to me, has determined that we ought to praise our students three times more often than we correct them. The three to one ratio is of course arbitrary but I accept fully that it provides a reference point by which we can monitor the way we interact with our students.
It’s been I think a full two years now that my principal has been making observations of my own applications of this objective. His attention has drawn my attention and I find the focus to be only positive. I’ve always known that everyone needs both affirmation and renovation and teachers, like parents, must not fail in either of these duties. I need to be and am trying to be more intentional about it. Now I have reason to believe I am making a little progress.
There are just two essential components to this.
Easy to Please. Notice when kids get it right. I am not embracing trophies for participation. The error there is one of scale. Trophies have meaning conditionally. Dispensed too readily they are mere trinkets, regardless of mass or volume. I am simply calling for a scaled response to progress. We make a fuss when a baby takes her first step. We don’t celebrate every single step after that. That’s as it should be. Still, a child who takes their first step a great deal later than expected should still get their moment of glory. “Well done and well done and well done.”
We have a great many firsts occurring in our classrooms. It is a pity if they are coming much later than they should have. Regardless we need to notice these. A pat on the back. A word of encouragement. A drawing of attention. Now and then, sometimes, a reward. Can you remember some accomplishment, maybe long ago, that someone noticed and told you they noticed? It stays with you doesn’t it? It made you want to do it again, only better.
There is more. They are our students. They are here for a purpose.
Hard to Satisfy. The human condition is one of tension. Jacques Maritain suggested that each person is a “horizon where two worlds meet.” We struggle with what we are now and what we are certain we were created to be. We meet these horizons in our classroom everyday. We want and need to both affirm them and propel them forward. No student, as no teacher, is all that they should be. We should teach our students that our corrections are not designed to lessen them. Just the opposite. An accurate measure never diminishes the object being measured. I’ve had more than a few students, and an occasional parent, suggest that I am militaristic in my discipline. I am sure that is hyperbole but I use the comparison to make this point. Why are drill sergeants so tough with young recruits? Is it deep seated hatred? Is it their intention to destroy them? We know better. Just the opposite. It is all about being prepared for whatever great battle may come.
I believe that a sound education equips a person to better respond to the inevitable challenges and difficulties in front of them. I am trying to use the right praise to correction ratio. I won’t always get it right. While I practice this art, my students should expect to hear often and learn to interpret, “Well done, and this is how you might do that better.”
*I’ve borrowed this marvelous phrase from George MacDonald, one of my favorite writers. I intend its use to be amplification and not arrogation. He used the phrase to describe God. Neither my claim nor my purpose is to emulate divinity, though a humble even if weak reflection seems to me simple duty.