Saturday, August 4, 2012
Devaluation
I just read this section and found myself agreeing that "people in positions of authority everywhere have less influence than in the past." I could certainly relate to the quote from Thomas Benton about the difficulty teachers have when it comes to giving students honest feedback--"The slightest criticisms have to be cushioned by a warm blanket of praise and encouragement to avoid provoking oppositional defiance or complete breakdowns." So true, and so frustrating! When did this shift occur? Why is it so difficult for educators to give constructive criticism without getting a backlash from students, their parents, or even worse, their own administration? If we cannot be honest with our feedback, we cannot challenge our students. Thinking back, the best teachers I ever had growing up were the ones who challenged me, not the ones who simply praised everything I did.
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Laura, this quote resonated with me when I read it this morning. I ended up reading it to my wife and 11 year old son. These two thoughts, the opposition, from students AND parents, and the breakdown/tears, are always in the back of my head when grading and it sometimes stops me from giving the feedback I think would help. i find myself couching my criticisms to the point that I fear they aren't helpful.
ReplyDeleteI also see times when they get so worked up over the grade that they don't even look at WHY they got the grade so they don't improve. I read a quote by Norman Vincent Peale recently that will be on my wall this year, and discussed early in the year. “The trouble with most of us is that we'd rather be ruined by praise than loved by criticism.” I also agree that the teachers who helped me the most were not the ones who were the most complimentary. They were the ones who had opinions that I valued and I valued them because they were justifiably critical when it was warranted.
Totally agree with both of you, and not surprisingly--I immediately thought about grading essays when reading this section. I remember giving 79.5% from time to time to avoid a fight while still sending a message about what the grade should be....
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who will not say the word "No" to her almost 2 year old son! This is ridiculous and this is where it all starts. How is the kid who has never heard "No" going to receive discipline and constructive criticism from teachers or authority figures? The "warm blanket of praise and encouragement" is what this 2 year old boy will always expect and then we as teachers have to deal with the breakdowns and blacklash.
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