NVCED.eu

I participated in the NVC Education Europe meeting in Bremen 2011. Along with (mostly) teachers from all over Europe, I explored Praise, Punishment and Rewards. My strongest and maybe most important discovery was, how praise can interfere with the connection I want to achieve with the pupils. I also experienced that it can be painful and can leave huge expectations that are almost impossible to achieve. I had often used praise in my practise as a teacher to give the pupils something in return when they had given me something (that’s at least what I thought). A pupil just sitting and drawing could “deserve” some praise, if he usually had problems doing this. I could praise his drawing even if I didn’t like it, just because he was sitting still. If a pupil showed me a drawing I would automatically praise it, because I thought that was what he wanted.

In a session in Bremen we had a role-play where we were receiving praise for a child’s-drawing. During this session I realized the negative impact praise can have on children (and others). The stronger it got the more awful it felt. I also realised that the good feelings I got, when a pupil did something, happened in me. This meant that I didn’t have to give something in return. We found out that being curious worked, if I wanted to maintain the connection with a pupil. This is what I do as a teacher now. Instead of giving my judgements I ask questions. I try to keep the good feeling within myself and appreciate them as much as I can. I am extremely thankful for the discoveries I did in Bremen. I will keep them with me for the rest of my teaching career.

Magnus Sørbye – 1^st grade teacher from Norway.

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