Think Positive!

We all know that classic book by Norman Vincent Peale The Art of Positive Thinking. I must admit that I have never read it although I’ve seen it many times here and there.  I do believe in positive thinking, but like everyone else, I too succumb to negative thoughts every now and then. I have done that often enough to know that negative thoughts are not only unhelpful but are downright draining and they not just affect you but also all those around you. You are truly spreading bad vibes with negative thoughts.

I am thinking about this simply because I have been encountering a number of instances of negative thoughts in the recent months. Usually it’s after I’ve explained how to use a new or unfamiliar strategy for teaching something or a different way of approaching teaching and learning. Sometimes I get enthusiastic response; other times, there’s some doubt and scepticism. These I can deal with. What I have problems with are the people who say to me that what I’ve shown them cannot be used with their students.  They say this not because they doubt the strategy or the activity but they sincerely feel that their students will never learn it even if they repeat the lesson a hundred times. And I see in their eyes the frustration and the resignation. I see in their body language the message that such strategies to write or read better should be shared with the better kids and not theirs.

This is very sad. If anybody needs a new way to help them learn better, it’s the struggling student. Good students find their way despite the teacher. Yet, the very students who need the help are not always given it. It’s true that teachers struggle against time and a host of administrative and marking duties which take them away from focusing on their teaching.  But that does not mean we give up on the teaching. Who says that we can learn something just because we have been taught? Have we forgotten our struggle to learn how to line dance, make a lava cake, create that smoky eye look or even simply to watch our diet? Nothing is that easily learnt.

Sure, some of our students need a much longer time than the others. But in their journey, they should be given support and encouragement. They don’t need to be reminded time and again that they are failures. We do this all the time when we insist on giving them work that they cannot cope with. We do this with good intention, of course, and that is to prepare them for the PSLE. But deep down, we know they are not ready for the PSLE. Do we persist in making them do those tasks and thus having them fail week after week? What will happen to their self confidence and self esteem? Are we really preparing them for the PSLE?

Maya Angelou once said:  I’ve learnt that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you make them feel.  

Every day in our classroom, we make people feel a certain way by what we say or do. We can make our struggling students feel better about themselves by first showing some belief in them. Then we can make them feel better by helping them in the best way we can. Finally, we can help them be better by simply persisting in not giving up on them. We can’t all be Mrs Chongs, but we can all have faith in all our students.

Be positive. Be encouraging. I believe these are the first steps we can take to help our struggling students succeed.