Is mechanical positive reinforcement turning our students into “beggars” who constantly need external validation?
The gift of being a teacher is that the profession lends itself, quite naturally, to expect the unexpected! A mini universe, the classroom challenges us as each interaction with the student can dissolve our preconditioned notions about how things, ”ought to be.” It is an evolving process, and the more open and receptive the student and teacher are to change, the possibilities of personal transformation and growth becomes infinite. As a former principal always reminded us, “Teaching keeps us eternally young.”
Positive reinforcement
Every teacher is privileged to have a vast storehouse of unusual experiences! Many years ago, a new student walked into the classroom, accompanied by her anxious parents. The student had moved from another country, and they were concerned about how well their child could adapt to the new environment. My colleague reassured them that the school had experience in this regard and that she would help ease the transition. The mother made an unusual request. She told the teacher that in the former school her daughter was used to constant positive reinforcement. An assignment well done had to be given a star and that the teacher had to regularly tell the student, “Good job, well done, wonderful…” (The mother actually handed over a list of phrases that the teacher could use!)The colleague said she remembered feeling a mixture of both amusement and irritation and had to gently remind them that she had 60 students. She assured them of attention and care but set the boundaries of what she found to be, “micro management.”
Pendulum swings
Like a pendulum, our systems in the classroom swing from one extreme to another. From an era where corporal punishment was used, we now are besieged by experts telling us that we need to give positive reinforcement. While the idea of this is to highlight the strengths of the child, it has descended into a method which is often delivered without any thought or value behind it.
As trainees we have observed environments, where this is observed to ridiculous extremes. During parent-teacher meetings, teachers in this particular school were given a list of stock phrases to use, both in their verbal and written expression. The net result was hilarious, when we overheard a group of parents discussing what their teachers had told them, and everyone finding that they had been told the same thing in the same manner! Honest feedback would best act as guidance, pointing out areas of strength and highlighting what needs to be done to gain the required skills. It is to allow the student/parent to see the potential and what could be done to tap into that area of strength. However, by glossing over what needs to be challenged, everyone comfortably ends up swimming in a bubble of illusion, until life shows otherwise!
Mirror image
One has observed that students who are constantly praised are a mirror image of those who are constantly rebuked. Both types of students are not being shown things as they are. We are teaching them to create false images and notions about themselves. Both groups constantly seek attention and need a validation from the external. This perhaps is the silent repercussion of this system. We are inadvertently teaching our kids, to derive their strength from external sources, and they possibly grow up into people who are always discontent and seeking a sense of security from the outside. One of my students was told that she had obtained a “C” Grade in an exam paper. She spent sleepless and anxious nights defining herself in various negative ways. A few days later, the teacher realised that she had mixed up the grades with someone of a similar name and the student was told she had an “A” grade. Instantly, her whole persona changed and the light was back in her eyes. That transformation was a reminder as to how strongly she defined her whole being by the grade received, that our identities are often defined by things, transient in nature.
A colleague who was blessed with both wisdom and experience said that she always reminded her students not to be “beggars” where they are constantly reaching outwards to be validated. In her classes, she included exercises in introspection and sometimes would ask students to grade their own work, giving themselves feedback. She found that over time, students were able to objectively step outside their work and look at it analytically. Her role would then be of guidance, showing them ways they could strengthen their innate potential. Instead of being frustrated by the system, she has decided to work within it, making small changes within herself and her students. “I don’t think about the difference I can make to the world. In my world, I do what I can.” Her words have been a source of strength for many of us.
It is a beautiful journey, to be able to go beyond the definitions of “good” and “bad.” To teach our children to live in true freedom is perhaps the greatest gift that we can share.
REFERENCE:
MARCH 27, 2016.The drawbacks of constant praise.The Hindu.Retrieved from
http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/The-drawbacks-of-constant-praise/article14177972.ece
