Reinforce Effort Not Intelligence

In class, part of the confidence presentation discussed when and what to praise a student for in a classroom. I had never really stopped to consider when I received praise as a child throughout school. However, praising a student for being smart is not helpful to the student whereas praising the effort you saw them contribute. When this was being discussed I had a very vivid memory come to the forefront of my mind from my grade 12 english class. 

I am a science kid and logical thinker at heart. I have always struggled in my English classes. I do not excel at flowery writing, I am very to the point. My teachers typically "punished" me for it as it was typically my lowest mark due to the exception rather than my ideas. I always put my best effort forward but I felt extremely defeated when my work was never validated because the output wasn't as beautifully put together as other pieces from other students. However, I remember having a discussion in the first week of class in my grade 12 english class and the teacher asked a question and I mumbled an answer. He heard me and made me repeat my thoughts but louder for the class to hear. I was expecting "oh that's ok but not what I am looking for". Instead he said "wow that's very insightful! Great idea". I was absolutely shocked but it sparked something inside of me and gave me an amazing idea for the essay we had been discussing. I remember writing a rough draft and checking in with him but I had taken a really different approach than most of my classmates. My teacher absolutely LOVED it. He gave me pointers to clean it up and areas that required more elaboration but when the time came to get my essay back for my final mark I was hesitant. I was afraid to see what I got because I had put so much of my time and effort into this essay and figured it would be identical to previous experiences. I was wrong and overjoyed, I had done exceptionally well and my teacher made a point to tell me this was the most impressive thought process for an essay he had seen in a long time. Did I feel like the smartest person alive and that I should apply to an english program for post-secondary? Absolutely not. However, I did gain confidence in my writing abilities and it left me excited to write my next essay for this class. 

This one teacher was able to create extensive scaffolding in regards to my confidence in my writing abilities, simply by validating my effort. This is a very essential skill and a requirement to being a good teacher in my opinion. 

EmmaW@OTU