The best way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

The recommendation presents a view that I would agree is successful most of the time, but one that I cannot fully

support

due to the “all or nothing” impression it gives.

Certainly

Add a comma

,Certainly

show examples

as an

educator

Add a comma

,educator

show examples

I agree fully that the best way to elicit a positive response from

students

is to make use of

students

’ positive energy and

then

encourage

actions

that you would like to see repeated. It is human nature that we all want to be accepted and achieve on some level, and when people in authority provide feedback that we have done something well, the drive to repeat the action that was praised is bound to be particularly strong.

This

blanket

statement

would obviously pay dividends in situations in which a

teacher

desires to have

students

repeat particular behaviours.

For example

, if an educator is attempting to teach

students

proper classroom etiquette, it would be appropriate to openly praise a

student

who raises his or her hand when wishing to speak or address the class. In

such

cases, the

teacher

may

also

help shape positive behaviours by ignoring a

student

who is trying to interject without approval from the

teacher

. In fact, the decision to ignore

students

who are exhibiting inappropriate behaviours of

this

type could work very well in

this

situation, as the stakes are not very high and the intended outcome can likely be achieved by

such

a method.

However

, it is important to note here that

this

tactic would only be effective in

such

a “low-stakes” situation, as when a

student

speaks without raising her hand

first

. As we will discuss below, ignoring a

student

who hits another

student

, or engages in more serious misbehaviours, would not be effective or prudent. To expand on

this

point, it is important for teachers to be careful when working with the

second

half of

this

statement

, only ignoring negative

actions

that are not serious. Take

for instance

a

student

who is misbehaving just by chatting with a fellow classmate.

This

student

might not be presenting much of a problem and

maybe

Correct your spelling

may be

show examples

simply seeking attention. Ignoring the

student

might, in fact, be the best solution. Now assume the negative action is the improper administering of chemicals in a science experiment or the bullying of a fellow

student

. To ignore these negative

actions

would be absurd and negligent. Now you are allowing a problem to persist, one that could potentially lead to much bigger and more dangerous issues. In a more serious situation, addressing the negative

actions

quickly and properly could stop the problem in its tracks. It is for reasons like

this

that I do not advocate the idea that a

teacher

can be successful by simply ignoring negative

actions

. I do,

however

, greatly

support

the idea that the central focus of teaching should be to build on and encourage positive

actions

.

However

, the author’s all-encompassing

statement

leaves too many negative possibilities for the classroom. Perhaps a better way to phrase

this

statement

would be to say, “The best way to teach is to praise positive

actions

and ignore negative ones that are not debilitating to class efficiency or the safety of any individual”.

Thus

, in the original

statement

, there are indeed some good intentions, and there could be a lot of merit in adopting its basic principles. Data proves that positive

support

can substantially increase motivation and desire in

students

and contribute to positive achievements. In fact, most studies of teaching efficacy indicate that praising positive

actions

and ignoring negative ones can create a more stable and efficient classroom. It needs to be stressed,

however

, that

this

tool is only effective at certain levels of misbehaviour. As mentioned above, when the

behaviour

is precipitated by feelings of revenge, power or total self-worthlessness,

this

methodology will likely not work. It is likely to be very successful,

however

, when the driver behind the misbehaviour is simple attention-seeking. In many of these instances, if the

teacher

demonstrates clearly that inappropriate

behaviour

does not result in the gaining of attention,

students

are more likely to seek attention by behaving properly. Should the

student

choose

this

path,

then

the ignoring has worked and when the positive

behaviour

is exhibited,

then

the

teacher

can utilize the

first

part of the theory and

support

or praise

this

behaviour

. Now it is much more likely to be repeated. If the

student

does not choose

this

path and

instead

elects to raise the

actions

to a higher level that presents a more serious issue,

then

ignorance alone cannot work and other methods must be employed. In conclusion, one can appreciate the credo expressed in

this

instance, but surely we all can see the potential error of following it through to the extreme.