Praise Publicly, Correct Privately

– By Steve Lovelock, Director

Our school still feels and looks new. In many ways, this is because we constantly refresh our practices.

In the beginning, we developed a rewards and consequences system that served us well (see Shabaz Sayed’s article, Going Old School). When new teachers joined, they soon grasped the mechanics of the system and this meant that they could get up and running quickly.

The system was simple: a column of names on the edge of the board, with ticks by the students who had done well, and another set of ticks for students who'd got something wrong. One tick was a warning; two meant a detention and so on.

One day, the Head of Pastoral announced that we were removing this system, to take effect immediately.

Staff sat up, surprised, and asked what could replace it?

Their eyes widened further at the Head of Pastoral's reply. He simply said, 'It's not going to be replaced. Just be nice and tell them when they're doing well.'

Frankly, we were all a bit stunned. A pillar of our practice had gone and we were left to fend for ourselves with nothing but niceness!

He went on to say that the old ways could be considered counterproductive, encouraging the students to play us against a system. They also created a needless distraction from our core objectives of teaching. Even so, it was a jolt. I confess to being somewhat thoughtful about the way forward.

Once the new behaviour policy was in place, I realised very quickly that it was an improvement and – in reality – I didn’t have to change a thing. I rigidly stick to one of the first pieces of advice I was given in teacher training: say what you want to see and praise them when they give it to you. Before I talk to the class, for example, I might ask for the sound of silence, and then when the rooms falls quiet I'll say something like ‘ah, that’s great’ and move on. If I ask for a reason for doing something in a certain way and a student gives a good answer I might respond with something like ‘that’s an excellent way of describing that, well done’. All students like to hear they've done something well and the whole atmosphere improves as a result.

In hindsight, it was evident that some students had treated the public display of their inappropriate behaviour as a badge of honour. Once this was no longer available, the only way to get extra attention was to do things right and be praised for it.

Of course, students don't always get it right. When this happens, I find that indicating what I want from them – rather than what I don’t want – is often enough to encourage them to change course, at which point I thank them. If that doesn't work or isn’t a suitable approach, then I'll speak to them quietly when I next pass by them. Either way, I avoid any public admonishment. This gives the students an opportunity to do the right thing without appearing to be criticised in front of their classmates.

Now, it seems curious to look back at the old system, in which students were (effectively) publicly ranked for getting it wrong! 

Reflecting on the success of this radical change, I wonder what else we might remove to improve...?