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Issue essay - The best way to teach ...


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The best way to teach—whether as an educator, employer, or parent—is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

 

That the best way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones suggests that instructing others should mainly take the attitude of fawning pupils with praise. In other words, they should be commended for any good behaviors while dismissing any malign ones. In my opinion, those being taught must be prepared for the real world, and that includes realizing that actions lead to successes and failures. When the fledgling can embrace one but not the other, as an adult they fail to cope with the unexpected and become non-exemplar members of our society. Throughout society and in life, the evidence to support my viewpoint is pervasive.

 

Consider the case of Mr. Thomassen’s first grade class of Lexington Bend Elementary, situated in Harris County, Texas. Mr. Thomassen employs a behavioral chart to mediate his students good and bad conducts. Their positive actions receive laurels in form of tangible prizes while their negative ones deem a punishment of isolation. By remediating both types of actions, Mr. Thomassen instills in his students the idea to do good while avoiding the malevolent. Moreover, the students are taught at an early age to be exemplar citizens, and hopefully, will carry this behavior forward as they age.

 

Another example is one I came to learn while employed as a programmer at XYZ in 2009. I carried out my duties with ease, but I finished my projects sometimes off schedule. My manager praised my completed efforts, but he failed to acknowledge the failed deadline or even ask me for one before I began the next task. I realized that my boss, Fred Khanom, had a fawning attitude towards his subordinates, and I completely accepted what he had to offer. Ultimately, Fred’s meekness led to a complete project shutdown as it no longer had monetary resources to continue. More importantly, Fred taught me an important lesson that teaching to praise, while appealing to us subordinates, can have devastating consequences.

 

Nonetheless, educators, employers, or parents must find a balance between praising positive actions and ignoring negative ones. Otherwise, the imbalance will lead to unsuccessful results for the one being instructed. Drill sergeants and sport coaches that emphasis the negative performances of their novice students risk damaging their confidence to the point of no return. The officer that

repeatedly finds faults in a soldier will cause him or her to abandon their position. Likewise, would a football coach overly criticizing his player’s form and finesse.

 

Clearly, the examples above show that praising positive actions and ignoring negative ones is not the best way to teach. Only by seeking a balanced approach to mediating the good and bad can instructors teach their pupils to become adept in the real world.

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