Celebrating Before Judging
School asks students to create.
An essay. A picture. A poem. An equation. A movement in sport. A model. A performance. Sometimes a chemical reaction. We have built entire institutions to make this possible.
At first glance, it seems like a wonderful thing. Children and young people are given the opportunity to make something that did not exist before. They can take an idea from inside their heads and turn it into something that other people can see, hear, read or experience.
It is one of the extraordinary things about being human.
So why aren’t kids running into school in joyful anticipation?
Because almost as soon as the creation appears, we judge it. We mark it. We grade it. We compare it. We correct it. We run the danger of turning a joyful act of creation into a test of whether the product is good enough. And, by association, for a young person, whether they are good enough.
Of course, this isn't an argument for abandoning assessment.
Schools need to know what students have learned. Qualifications depend on standards. Progression requires some form of measurement. Teachers need to identify misconceptions and help students improve. Even in schools where, at first glance, there is no grading - Montessori, Steiner/Waldorf and the IB Primary Years Programme, for example - teachers still assess learning through observation, feedback, reflection and other forms of ongoing assessment. In addition, the students themselves want to know, “Was it any good?” So there are good reasons for judgement.
But imagine a child showing a parent a picture they have drawn. The first response is unlikely to be: “That's a C+.” Although I must admit that, as a seasoned teacher, I have had to stop myself from immediately judging my own children’s efforts.
Instead, we celebrate. We look at it. We ask about it. We notice something interesting. We make all the right noises and probably stick it on the fridge door. Most parents send the right message, and the child experiences something important: I made this, and somebody values the fact that I made it.
Positive psychology shows us that wellbeing includes developing a sense of competence and having the opportunity to use our strengths and make a contribution. So the humble picture on the fridge is doing more work than we realise.
Of course, school is different.
A teacher cannot, and should not, respond to every piece of work as a proud parent might. There are learning objectives, success criteria and standards to consider. But the principle is still worth holding onto.
Neither does celebrating mean telling every student that what they have produced is brilliant. That would be neither honest nor particularly helpful. It just means acknowledging the act of creation in addition to evaluating the outcome.
We can put the painting on the wall, photograph the sculpture, publish the poem, perform the piece for an audience or invite another class to see what has been made. A school can display work in its corridors or celebrate it through its website or newsletter. Most schools already do these things and they’re laudable, but they do take time and effort.
One small habit backed, by research into happiness by Martin Seligman, is to deliberately notice what is going well. This focus on the positive can contribute to greater wellbeing.
As teachers, we can apply the same principle to the things students create. We can deliberately give students a moment to stand back and look at their creation. By directing their attention to that moment, we reinforce three simple facts:
You made this.
It exists because you made it.
Take the time to notice.
Every teacher will do this differently, so it’s worth giving a moment’s thought as to what it might look like in your classroom.
For my part, I am going to look back at this post before seeing if it gets any likes.
Research: Self-Determination Theory and research into autonomy and competence provide a useful framework for understanding the relationship between agency, motivation and wellbeing.
#PositiveEducation #StudentWellbeing #LearnerAgency #Education #Creativity #ExperientialLearning #Wellbeing