Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results

Summary:
The article, "Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results" by Joanne Lipman describes the idea of bringing back the "old school" way of teaching as a means to motivate students in schools today. She uses a teacher from her past, who has since passed away, whose biggest compliment to his students was "Not bad." She and her peers feel that his methods, while frowned upon in today's society, were extremely successful in the education of his students. Lipman believes that her teacher taught students how to work harder when you're not doing well enough, rather than coddling students and complimenting them to strengthen self esteem. In fact, the author describes different studies which have found that compliments are beginning to make students soft, and not as strong or able to handle difficult situations when they are confronted by them.

Opinion:
While reading this article, I could not help but think back to the TED talk which featured Rita Pierson, a teacher who used positive reinforcement and an optimist view on life to motivate her students to keep trying and do well. While I do not agree completely with the article, I agree with some points. I think there is a healthy balance between being tough on your students and being positive to let them know what they're doing right. When I was going through school, i've found that the teachers I most looked up to were the ones who motivated me in a positive way. Every other teacher who was "tough" on me, has set a negative memory of themselves for me. When teachers can relate to their students, students will succeed. There is no need to coddle students or compliment every single accomplishment, but sometimes that is mostly what a student needs. I like the difference that the author pointed out between telling a student that they are "smart" and telling them that they are a "hard worker." While the statements are similar, each makes a completely different impact on students and how they carry themselves in to their futures. There is a balance, it's just a means of finding it.