Praise Junkies
By Tiffany De Rosa
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 31 , 2009
Can we praise our students too much? I believe the answer is yes, we can.
Praise, acknowledgement and reassurance are important components on childhood development as we learned earlier from Erikson. Children are hungry for approval especially in their younger years, but as a perspective teacher I feel we can turn our students into "praise junkies". It is more important to educate our students on why we do things, or why the classroom has to run a certain way instead of training them to do things just to receive recognition. This is easier said than done and I’m sure it takes practice. It almost seems like a reflex to say "good job" when a student does what you want them to.
Yes giving out praise to make students act in a desired way definitely makes it easier for us the teachers, but what is best for our students? Intrinsic rewards are what I am referring too. I think we should show kids the affect they have on other students, their parents and their class as a whole when they do the right thing. I think we should ask them how they feel when they get that A+ on a paper. Children do need to be taught how to recognize intrinsic rewards so that their confidence can be built up not only on others praise but their desire to please themselves. This will ensure students have proper motivations for the behavior.
In all areas of life there should be balance. Praise is not right or wrong, it just has to be used properly. For example, I remember a teacher I had in middle school who said “good job” to everyone like it was nothing. It seemed to be part of her every day speech. I have to say it greatly deterred my motivation to do well in the class because I knew she would accept anything I did with a pat on the back. Whereas another teacher I has in middle school was constantly giving me feedback and constructive criticism in order to push me to improve. Going back balance, I believe we should give praise where praise is due. Being positive and encouraging is a great way to show students you care but you should also pair it with reasoning.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 31 , 2009
Can we praise our students too much? I believe the answer is yes, we can.
Praise, acknowledgement and reassurance are important components on childhood development as we learned earlier from Erikson. Children are hungry for approval especially in their younger years, but as a perspective teacher I feel we can turn our students into "praise junkies". It is more important to educate our students on why we do things, or why the classroom has to run a certain way instead of training them to do things just to receive recognition. This is easier said than done and I’m sure it takes practice. It almost seems like a reflex to say "good job" when a student does what you want them to.
Yes giving out praise to make students act in a desired way definitely makes it easier for us the teachers, but what is best for our students? Intrinsic rewards are what I am referring too. I think we should show kids the affect they have on other students, their parents and their class as a whole when they do the right thing. I think we should ask them how they feel when they get that A+ on a paper. Children do need to be taught how to recognize intrinsic rewards so that their confidence can be built up not only on others praise but their desire to please themselves. This will ensure students have proper motivations for the behavior.
In all areas of life there should be balance. Praise is not right or wrong, it just has to be used properly. For example, I remember a teacher I had in middle school who said “good job” to everyone like it was nothing. It seemed to be part of her every day speech. I have to say it greatly deterred my motivation to do well in the class because I knew she would accept anything I did with a pat on the back. Whereas another teacher I has in middle school was constantly giving me feedback and constructive criticism in order to push me to improve. Going back balance, I believe we should give praise where praise is due. Being positive and encouraging is a great way to show students you care but you should also pair it with reasoning.
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