Praise vs Encouragement JESSICA EDINGER BUCKLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Praise vs. Encouragement JESSICA EDINGER BUCKLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOLS GSRP

“A Look At Praise Statements”Activity 1 (5 -7 min) Look at each picture given Read through praise statements Match praise statement to correct picture Way to go! Goo d ! t i j d o i d b! u o Y

How did that work? Thoughts? These praise statements are all very generic comments. They could be matched with any picture. Misconception about praise: It is a GSRP rule. We can’t say good job I IT IS NOT A GSRP RULE THAT TEACHERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY G GOOD JOB. IT IS WHAT IS BEST PRACTICE FOR ALL CHILDREN

On the praise wagon! We live in a world where kids are praised for everything! Good job, you put your coat on! Way to go you brushed your teeth! High five, you pushed your chair in! You did your work, here’s sticker! What is praise? American Heritage Dictionary: an expression of approval and commendation Opposite of praise is criticism. Would we ever say, “You did a really bad job at writing your name. ” I don’t think so!

Why do we praise children? What are the reasons we praise? What are we trying to give the child? Make child feel good about themselves Show child we care Build self-esteem School may be the only place they get to feel good about what they do Child has a rough home life More reasons?

Self Esteem Self esteem is a person’s overall opinion of themselves, including their abilities and limitations. People with low self esteem put little value on their own ideas. Praise statements, such as “good job” do not help children put their own value on what they did. It is giving them OUR opinion. Alfie Kohn (2001) reminds adults that by saying “good job, ” we are telling children how to feel about what they did and stealing opportunities for them to identify that gratifying feeling on their own.

Negatives of Praise Students become addicted to praise Manipulation by praise • Begin fishing for praise in everything they • Lose the process of self-evaluation “Rewarding children’s compliance is the flip side of punishing their disobedience” (grille, 2014, para. 13) • Children turn into “pleasers” - doing • Works short term • Can be used to persuade other to comply with directions. (I see Johnny is sitting quietly and is ready) thus, using praise to control behavior do things just for the reward or praise • when everything he/she does is followed by praise, if the praise doesn’t come, child may consider himself a failure Frightened of failure • When being told good job or your so smart for everything they do, when they experience a failure, they consider themselves not smart. • By being told “keep up the good work” a child may take it as, “ I should quit while I’m ahead” and not try more challenging things.

So…how do we acknowledge kids? Praise may give short term results, in the long run it hinders the child’s ability to develop their own evaluative skills. Students need to be able to decide for themselves if they are satisfied with what they did or the outcome of their actions. This is not saying that adults don’t have a role in this. By describing efforts and accomplishments, students can choose for themselves how to feel about what they did.

Encouragement Describe children’s actions Encourage them to describe own work Focus on efforts rather than results Participate in children’s play Do not take over play Use materials in similar way children do This tells child what they are doing is interesting and worthwhile

Back to the pictures Read through encouragement statements Match encouragement statements to corresponding picture Thoughts?

Practice makes perfect Giving encouragement statements instead of praise statements is not easy. It takes mindfulness every time. Please look at one more picture and write 3 -5 encouraging statements as a group Share with large group

references Grille, R. Rewards and praise: The poisoned carrot. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from http: //www. natrualchild. org/robin_grille/rewards_praise. html Kohn, A. (2001, September). Five resons to stop saying “good job. ” Retreived July 31, 2014, from www. alfiekohn. org/parenting/gj. htm Gainsley, S. (n. d. ). Why saying "good job!" is not "Good Practice". Highscope Extensions, 28, 1 -8. Gainsley, S. (n. d. ). Leanring to Encourage. Highscope Extensions, 28, 9 -11 Gainsley, S. (n. d. ). Trainer to trainer: Using Encouragement. Highscope Extensions, 28, 12 -13