Phrase Your Praise

There are different ways on how we could actually praise a child for what he/she has done well. There are indeed a hundred ways on how to phrase your praise so that it continues to inspire, motivate and empower those boys and girls in class.

Wow*Way to Go*Outstanding*Excellent*Great*Good*Very Good*Well Done*Remarkable*I Knew You Could Do It*I'm Proud of You*Fantastic*That's Indeed Super*Nice Work*Looking Good*That's Beautiful*Now You've Got It*You're Incredible*Bravo*How Nice*You're On The Right Tract*You're So Smart*Good Job*That's Incredible*Good For You*I Like That* You're A Winner*Remarkable Work*Beautiful Work*Spectacular*That's A Great Discovery*Brilliant*You've Figured It Out*Magnificent*Marvelous*Terrific*That's So Creative Of You*You're Truly Responsible*Exceptional Performance*You Learned It Right*What An Imagination*What A Good Listener*Wonderful Job*I Know You Tried Real Hard*I Know You Care*Beautiful Sharing*Outstanding Performance*i Trust You*You Mean A Lot To This Class*You Make Us Truly Happy*You Belong*That's Correct*You're Wonderful*You Brighten Up Our Day*That's Perfect*A+ Job*That's The Best Answer*I Salute You*You've Explained It Real Well*I Have No Doubts That You Can Do It*That's Brilliant Idea*I Haven't Even Thought About That Idea*Your Output is Worth Displaying *

Start using them to your students and see the magic these can bring to them. You may also have other power lines which you can include in the list. However, always remember... your SMILE is worth 1000 words!

WHEN YOU'RE "NOT SMART ENOUGH": On Inspiring and Empowering Students

I would like to dedicate this blog entry to all you, kids, out there... yes, to all of you especially those who get easily frustrated and discouraged by the low grades they receive in school. Well, let me tell you one thing: Sure, grades are important, but your future doesn't wholly depend on what your card shows.

Let me then share with you this article, When You're 'Not Smart Enough,' which a colleague of mine shared with me a long time ago, and which I have never failed to share with my students to inspire them and to empower them.

1. Don't label yourself according to your grades. They measure how well you do things, not your value as a person - or even your intelligence. (It's a fact that some intelligent people don't do well in school.) And getting all perfect scores on all your exams doesn't make a student a better person than someone who gets a merely passing mark.
Besides, the abilities that grades measure are very few. Grades rarely show your ability to make friends, your knack to think up new ideas, or to solve problems in real life situations, or to take initiatives - all of which are important for general succes in life.

2. Learn about yourself as you go - and build on your strengths. Some people remember best the material they read; others remember best the lessons that they hear; still others learn best through discussion and hands-on.
Think about the way you seem to pick up things most easily, and look for ways to put your strength to work in all your classes. For example, Diana realized that she learned best through stories. When she began to think of History, a subject she disliked, as a series of stories about people and what they had done, her History grades improved.

3. Concentrate more on learning and understanding the lesson than getting a high score. Aim to learn. Some people can recite a whole chapter of a book or a long poem from memory, but when asked to explain it, they can't! It's because they only memorized but never understood it at all.

4. Learn from your mistakes as well as from your successes. When Dennis gets his graded exams back from his teachers, he goes over all the mistakes again, looking for the correct answer in his notes and in his books. This way, his mistakes help him remember what is right.

5. Develop non-academic interests to balance out your life. Sports, church assignments and extra curricular activities such as drama guild, glee club, or school band, can develop your other talents. Such activities provide new friends and teach you more about yourself and your strengths. When you have interest outside of school, you are able to lead a well-rounded life. People who've made a name for themselves after leaving school will tell you that what you do outside the classroom is very important too.

6. Most importantly, put God into the picture. The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and learn not from your own understanding. In all ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed." Ask Him to help you make the most out of school. Make every effort to do your best and then leave the results with Him. He cares about your future and He cares about you even more than you do.

LIVING A LESS STRESSFUL LIFE FOR TEACHERS

As teachers, we live a stressful life. Agree? And once unmanaged, often leads to hating the work and quitting. So, before we even reach that point of breaking down and despising our profession as teachers, let me share with you some tips which will help you live a less stressful teaching life.

LEARN TO SAY NO.
Yes, learn to say no. The problem with many of us is that we feel it is our duty to do everything that is asked of us especially by our superiors (e.g. Principal, Assistant Principal, Department Head) or even co-teachers. Upon careful examination, most of them are simply favors being asked of us. And because we are so good-natured, we try to accommodate all of them, which actually leaves us with very little time for ourselves, to relax and enjoy.

How then do we say no? First, don’t feel guilty saying no especially if you feel that by saying yes, you will end up sacrificing so much time which you could use in accomplishing your very own list of priority tasks. Second, deliver the message in a polite way. Facial expression and tone of voice are very important when turning down someone. Remember, you can always deliver bad news in a not-so-bad way. Third, be proactive. Instead of simply turning down, why not extend a hand by simply offering alternatives to help the requester? That way, it would sound like a win-win situation for the two of you. Lastly, be firm by giving the requester a reason why it is a no and not an excuse. Just be honest about why you need to say no, and for sure, people will more likely to understand.

EMPOWER YOUR STUDENTS.
Why not tap your students to help you out? I’m not saying, ask them to check test papers for you especially if your school policy doesn’t permit you to do so. Empower the class officers to help you out in the checking of attendance, monitoring of discipline concerns, collecting of class fund. You could also tap the creative students of your class to help you in bulletin board designing and in coming up with ideas for song and/or dance class competitions. This way, you could make your work a little lighter plus you could even train your students to face challenging tasks. And what is even a more important outcome of this is heightened self-esteem among your students brought about by your trust in their talents and capabilities.

MAXIMIZE YOUR VACANT PERIODS.
Instead of being idle by doing non-work related tasks, be productive. Bear in mind that the time you spend in school is your time for work. As much as possible, devote your vacant periods to doing the clerical side of teaching: checking papers, recording and computing grades, preparing visual materials, and lesson planning. By doing so, you are protecting your weekends from paperworks.
It is also good to always come up with a list of To Do’s everyday and do your very best to accomplish what’s in your list. This then would remind us to come up with a realistic list of To Do’s, something you can really finish by the end of the day.

COMPUTERIZE AND KEEP A FILE OF YOUR TEACHING MATERIALS.
When you are to prepare a quiz, computerize it. Keep a hard and soft copy in your disk. You can do the same for lesson plans and visual materials. Re-use the effective ones and improve on the not-so-good ones. Through the years, you will be able to come up with a compilation of the best lesson plans, teaching materials and evaluation tools which you could always refer to when you are in need of one. This would definitely save you time and effort.

KEEP YOUR WEEKEND SACRED.
As much as possible, weekend is the time for God, family and oneself. You need your weekend to de-stress your life a bit, to re-charge so that by the following week you are in your best shape again. My advice is to engage into something different like sports or exercise (especially for those who need trimming down), socialize like going to parties (especially for singles), other recreation like cooking, arts, gardening, part-time business ( for those needing extra income), graduate school (for those requiring themselves to have MA and PhD), or anything that is out-of-your weekday routine. This will truly help you achieve work-life balance.