The definition of
the word compliment: “To say something nice to or about
someone.”
Everyone likes a
well-deserved compliment. Letting people know that you
recognize their abilities is a great way to motivate them. A
teacher has the opportunity, and I’ll add, the moral obligation,
to compliment her students for work well done.
When I was studying
at the university in New York, I had a professor of a teaching
methods course who made us write a list of compliments to be
used in the classroom. We all thought it was a very strange
assignment, only later when we were teaching did we realize what
good advice he gave us!
My motto is,
“always look for some good in your students.” The student who is
struggling to keep up with others will have need of a
compliment (surely there’s something he can do right!)
to make him feel he’s not hopeless.
Here some
creativity comes in on the part of the teacher:
“I noticed
you’re very well organized. That is going to help you a lot.”
“I see
you’re trying. Keep it up!”
“I’m glad
to see some improvement.”
“You
understand this part very well. Good for you!”
“With just
a little more effort, you’re going to do fine”
“Be
patient, keep trying and you’ll start seeing results”
As you can see, I
started with the compliments that are a little more difficult,
because you have to sort out what can be complimented on for a
slow student.
This next part is
easier. Just don’t forget that even a good student likes to hear
a compliment to “push him on to greater things”.
Here are some
compliments that shouldn’t be used sparingly:
“You did
a good job on the test.”
“You
handled that homework assignment very well.”
“You’re
doing fine. Keep up the good work.”
“That
was excellent work.”
“Good
work. I’m proud of you.”
“I like
your enthusiasm.”
“You
work very well with others.”
Once you get into
the “complimenting habit”, you’ll surely see results. Your
motivated students will give you great satisfaction and maybe,
if you’re lucky, the students may even compliment you on
an interesting lesson!
A Nice
Thought:
“I can live
for two months on a good compliment.”
Mark Twain