What Great Teachers Do Differently

by Todd Whitaker

  Five Strategies That Help Praise Work

  Ben Bissell (1992) has described five things that help praise work—elements that are important if attempts at praise are to have their most positive effect. To be effective, praise must be authentic, specific, immediate, clean, and private. Let us apply these general characteristics to the specifics of motivating and praising in our daily life.

  To be effective, praise must be authentic, specific, immediate, clean, and private.

  First, authentic means that we are praising people for something genuine, recognizing them for something that is true. This is an important facet because the recognition of something authentic can never grow weary. Sometimes people state that they do not praise more because they feel that it will lose its credibility or that it will become less believable if it happens too much. The way to prevent this is to make sure that it is always authentic. No one ever feels that they are praised too much for something genuine. Authentic does not mean that it is earth-shattering or that it is a magnificent accomplishment. The only requirement is that it be true. You don’t need to wait until your friend loses fifty-five pounds before you compliment him. He won’t mind hearing that he’s looking good after just ten days of puffing around the track! (In fact, that may be when he most needs to hear it.) As educators, we have many opportunities to catch people doing things right. Each is an opportunity to give authentic praise.

  Second, effective praise is specific. The behavior we acknowledge often becomes the behavior that will continue. If we can recognize others’ positive efforts with specific appreciation, then we can help them recognize the value of these efforts as well. For example, acknowledging that a student did an effective job of asking questions during a class period can help reinforce this learning skill. Specific praise also allows you to reinforce someone in an authentic manner. If you use specific praise, you can recognize everyone in your classes—even students who are struggling. You do not have to be dishonest and say that a person is outstanding academically, or that a paper is excellent, if that’s not the case. Instead, you can identify those areas that did have merit and acknowledge them through praise.

  I am reminded of a student named Aaron, who was walking down the hallway one February day. I was principal at the time, and I noticed that Aaron was wearing a new sweater. (I saw Aaron in my office often enough that I pretty much knew his entire wardrobe.) As Aaron drew near I said to him, “Boy, Aaron, that is a good-looking sweater you’ve got on there.” Aaron hadn’t had much occasion to smile at me before, but he cracked a smile that morning. Not only that, he wore that sweater to school every day for the next three weeks and made sure I noticed it! Every one of us appreciates authentic, specific praise.

  Third: immediate praise. This means recognizing positive efforts and contributions in a timely manner. Providing authentic and specific feedback when good things happen, or soon afterward, is an important element in making reinforcement effective. In education, we are so fortunate to have dozens of daily opportunities to give immediate feedback to those around us. If a student tries extra hard, or a class puts on a program that really sparkles, or if a couple of our colleagues spend their break tidying up the faculty room, we can say right away, “Nice job!” And the more often we do this, the more praise becomes a habit.

  Fourth, praise must be clean. This is often a very challenging expectation, especially for educators. There are two parts to clean praise.

  Praise is not clean if you issue it simply to get someone to do something in the future. In other words, it is important to authentically compliment someone, not just tell a person something meaningless but nice because you hope that they will do something different—and unrelated—tomorrow. Take care to remind yourself of this quite regularly. Otherwise, you will be tempted to discontinue praising because you feel it, “did not work.” For example, you might praise a student’s homework assignment on Monday, but then that student might blurt out yet another rude comment during class on Friday. Do not feel that these two events are linked. We often take the inappropriate behavior of less positive students too personally. Although our goal is to get them to be more positive, we need to be aware that their moods usually have much more to do with the way they feel about themselves than it does with how they regard us.

  The second aspect of clean praise is also tricky for educators: If praise and reinforcement is to be clean, it cannot include the word “but.” If we are trying to compliment a student and we say, “I appreciated the work you did on your math today, but you need to finish your social studies assignment,” the individual we hoped to praise will very likely only remember the part after the “but,” which was a criticism.

  If we really intend to praise someone, then it is important that we separate these two comments. “I appreciated the work you did on your math today,” could have been an authentic, specific, immediate, positive, and reinforcing comment for that student. Such a statement helps to clarify and reinforce our expectations about how students should complete work. It also makes it much more likely that the student will consciously seek to work this way in the future. The other part of the comment, “you need to finish your social studies assignment,” should be given at another time and in another way. Tying the two together reduces or even eliminates the value of the praise. (“You’re looking trim these days, Joe, but I’ve been wondering what has happened to your hair.” Which part of that sentence has lasting impact?)

  Finally, effective praise is private. Dr. Bissell believes that the vast majority of the time, praise needs to be given in private. I agree with this and would also say that if in doubt, you are always safe to praise someone in private. Remember the old days when teachers would say, “I am giving back the tests from best to worst. Jimmy, come on up and get yours first.” Often the end result of this is either that Jimmy makes sure he never gets the best grade again, or that the other students make sure to take out their frustration on Jimmy at recess.

  Likewise, recognizing students publicly when they get a 3.5 grade point average may seem reinforcing, but many of these students would rather receive private recognition because it may not be “cool” to have high grades. Having a private ceremony for these “honor roll” students, or sending their parents a letter, would probably accomplish the same thing without potentially building resentment among their peers. Realistically, we often have many students in our schools who could not have achieved this lofty GPA, and no amount of watching others garner praise is likely to launch them onto the honor roll.

  However you elect to reinforce the efforts of others, it is essential that you “Raise the Praise!” on a regular basis. Nobody minds hearing praise. As a matter of fact, if we praise correctly it is impossible to praise too much. And if you question this, just think: Have you ever been praised too much? Of course not. You may have been falsely flattered by someone you knew was not genuine, but if the praise is authentic, it’s never too much.

  When I work with teachers, I often remind them that how much we praise is a choice. And what’s more, every time I praise someone, at least two people feel better—and one of them is me. Then why are educators so hesitant to praise? Here are some of the most common responses I get from principals and teachers when I ask why they do not praise more. Let’s examine this thinking.

  Reason: If I praise people, they will stop working.

  Response: If students say how much they enjoy your class, do you slack off and show a video the next day? No, you try even harder. Which comment is more likely to keep you on a diet: “You’re looking good,” or, “It’s about time”? If a neighbor compliments you on the lawn you just mowed, do you mow it less carefully next time? Quite the opposite. Next time you might even trim! If you question whether praise works, come on over to my house and look at my neighbor’s lawn. Authentic praise is a powerful reinforcement and motivator.

  Reason: If I start praising people, I might miss someone and hurt their feelings.

  Response: Is it better never to
praise anyone? If we miss everyone, whose feelings do we spare? And maybe it’s not their feelings we are worried about. Perhaps we don’t want to feel bad because we left someone out, or perhaps we are unsure of their response so we don’t take a chance. People who resent praise given to others do so mainly because they don’t feel valued themselves. The solution is not less praise, but a much more inclusive and generous effort to recognize others. Praise is one key to working effectively with high achievers.

  Reason: I don’t have the time.

  Response: After all, we barely have time to get in all the griping, whining, and complaining we need to do, now don’t we? (Sorry, was that sarcasm?)

  Now (excluding yourself), name the three teachers in your school who praise the most. Now, name the three best teachers in your school. Is there any overlap there?

  I would love to be treated the way the best teachers treat their students.

  I don’t know about you, but I would love to be treated the way the best teachers treat their students. Getting called sir or ma’am, always hearing please and thank you, and consistently being treated with respect and dignity sounds awfully nice to me.

  The teacher who sets a positive tone can influence the interactions of everyone in the school. We must make sure we do this even when we least feel like it (and remember, praising others helps us to feel like it). Focusing on all of the positive things in our classrooms and schools—and there are many—gives us more drive and energy to get through the less positive times. If we do not set this positive tone, who will? And if we do not establish a productive focus, should we be surprised if the voices of the naysayers set quite a different tone?

  Too Much Nice

  I know that everyone reading this book faces a multitude of growing demands. Special education, alternative education, drug-free education, sex education, and of course the new state standards—these all affect our schools and our responsibilities. Each of these may even be essential. We could debate forever about whether we have enough of one or too much of another. But I know one thing for sure: We never have too much nice.

  Effective educators understand that one of a teacher’s most important tasks is to model appropriate behavior. With all the challenges we face in school, and sometimes at home, being nice to others may seem trivial. But if our classrooms and schools can have that as a foundation, many of the other challenges become less daunting. Teachers who consistently model their expectations for how people should be treated give their schools a valuable gift—a gift that, in time, everyone in the school can give to each other.

  If everyone in a school is treated with respect and dignity, you may still have nothing special. However, if everyone in a school is not treated with respect and dignity, you will never have anything special. Of that I am sure.

  Great teachers create a positive atmosphere in their classrooms and schools. They treat every person with respect. In particular, they understand the power of praise.

  10

  Be the Filter

  Teachers are the filters for the day-to-day reality of school. Whether we are aware of it or not, our behavior sets the tone. If students overhear us whining or complaining about something, it may be the talk of the school for days even if it was something minor. By the same token, if we always approach things in a positive manner, then this is what the students reflect. The most effective educators understand this and choose their filters carefully.

  How Is Your Day Going?

  As educators, we hear this question many times a day. Our response not only influences how others view us, but also affects the frame of mind of the person who asked. What’s more, we have choices about how to respond.

  You can smile at a fellow teacher and say, “Things are great! How about with you?” Or you can respond, “That Jimmy Wallace is getting on my nerves!” Then all of a sudden Jimmy Wallace is getting on that teacher’s nerves, too, whether the teacher knows him or not.

  You may be thinking that you could not do this because you would never lie. Hmm: So when the second graders ask if you like the mural they drew, what do you tell them? How do you answer the question, “Honey, do these pants make me look fat?” Again, it is always up to us to determine what gets through our filters and what does not.

  The Angry Parent

  Here’s one scenario, filtered two ways. Let’s examine what happens under each. Say I’m a homeroom teacher meeting with an irate parent behind closed doors. As so often happens, Mrs. Smith is really mad at the world, but I just happen to be the one sitting there as she vents her feelings. After she leaves, I walk into the hall and a colleague says innocently, “How is your day going?” Now I have choices to make.

  I can choose to filter my response: “Things are great, how about with you?” If that teacher feels good about the world, we both move on, smiling. If he has concerns, at least I have not made them worse.

  Or I can respond, “Oh, I just met with that whacko parent Mrs. Smith. Man, she has some temper! I hope I never have to deal with her again. Yikes!” Now, what have I accomplished? Well, I have made that teacher terrified of Mrs. Smith. And if I tell enough people about Mrs. Smith, I might have every teacher in the school worrying about the possibility of meeting this notorious harridan. Some might be leery of working with any student whose last name is Smith, or hesitant about calling any parents (and especially the ones named Smith). I have shifted their energy away from confidently approaching their students to unproductive worrying.

  One way or the other, my response affects the school. By sparing others the unnecessary bad news, I can create a much more productive environment.

  When the Teacher Sneezes

  When the teacher sneezes, the whole class catches a cold. This is neither good nor bad, it is just the truth. Our impact is significant because our focus becomes the students’ focus. If we have great credibility and good relationships, students work to please us. If we lack credibility, students work against us. Students come to class each day wanting and expecting us to set the tone. If the tone we establish is positive and professional, they’ll match that tone. If our attitude is negative and confrontational, they’ll respond in kind.

  We often hear the statement, “You have to earn students’ respect.” Yet the students are on their best behavior the first day of school. Did we earn that? Did we work with the students and their families one on one over the summer to build that bond? Of course not. On the first day of school, students hand us respect on a platter. We determine what happens to that gift. The best teachers continue to nurture and build respect all year long.

  One Goal, Every Day

  I really like faculty meetings; I always have. As a principal, I cherished the opportunity to spend time with an outstanding group of professionals. I tried not to waste that precious time on administrative or logistical announcements. I sought to end each meeting on a positive note, sending teachers to their next challenge with energy and enthusiasm. No matter what the purpose, content, or focus of the faculty meeting might be, I always had one fundamental goal: I wanted the teachers to be more excited about teaching tomorrow than they were today.

  Great teachers take the same approach in their classes. No matter what the lesson plan “covers,” great teachers want their students to be more excited about learning tomorrow than they are today.

  A friend of mine once shared a story that took place in a kindergarten classroom. At the start of class, the teacher said to the students, “I think we will be inside at recess today, because it was raining on my way to work.” After a pause, one of her little charges raised his hand and asked, “Where do you work?”

  Each day, we decide what to bring into our classrooms. Even on the days we don’t feel quite so perky, we can filter out the negative energy that makes students feel we’re just there to do our job. If our attitude shows we want to be there, our students will reflect that positive energy back to us.

  Where the Elite Meet?

  Now and then, I ask a group of teachers, “W
hat advice would you give a student teacher about the teachers’ lounge at your school?” The most common reply is, “Stay out!” Isn’t that a shame? I don’t know of a single college program that includes a class on griping in the teachers’ lounge, yet some first-year teachers seem to have it down by November. Where do they pick up that habit?

  The great teachers don’t add to the litany of complaints. Instead, they filter them out.

  Probably the best predictor of whether teachers will gripe in the teachers’ lounge tomorrow is whether they heard we were griping in there today. The great teachers don’t add to the litany of complaints. Instead, they filter them out.

  The lounge should be a place where teachers relax, socialize, and enjoy each other’s company. The faculty workroom should be a place where professionals support each other. Sure, teachers are overworked and underpaid—but do we really want to focus on those aspects of our profession during our free minutes? Teaching is a demanding job, but it’s the job we’ve chosen, and we can choose to focus on its rewards and challenges in a positive way. The great teachers do that.

  The World Outside School

  It almost goes without saying that great teachers establish an effective filter between their personal lives and their classrooms. Every teacher ought to model this professional behavior. The classroom is no place to discuss marital problems, to complain about low salaries for teachers, or even to show home movies of the family pet’s antics.