Compliments go a long way!

Today was a recovery from the craziness of Halloween and the sugar high that most student's experienced.  There was still a lot of candy going throughout my classroom, and a lot of wrappers found their way to the trash bin.  But today, more than candy, was about the power of a compliment. 

As a teacher on an LTO, my very first LTO, I have been nervous that I am handling situations properly, giving students the right advice and moving the class at a good pace.   I have been nervous about it, outside of the classroom, and a lot of my co-teachers have been supportive. 

Today, a wonderful supply teacher came in to set-up for her class while I was finishing up with a couple of students.  The students and I were talking about their concerns for their grades as midterms are quickly approaching.  I was giving the students reassurance that they are still able to improve their mark and that I will do everything in my power to make sure they end up with the grade that they want, if they put the effort into it.  

After about 5 minutes of talking to the students, they felt satisfied and went on to their next class with a "Have a great weekend Miss. Fitz!"  I then turned to introduce myself to the supply teacher.  Before I had the opportunity to, the supply said, "You spoke to those students wonderfully; exactly what I would have done in any of my LTO's."  

WOW.  That made me feel good.  Later, I learned that this supply teacher had had many successful LTO's and was a very successful supply.  The simple compliment that she provided to me made my week and gave me confidence to go on to home instruct a student. 

Reflecting on how I felt, I have realized that giving those compliments makes a big impact on someones day.  We have the ability to change someones day with just a single sentence.  As teachers, and people in general, we should make an effort to improve at least one person's day with a compliment. 

This leads me to my goal for the weekend; my goal is to give at least one compliment to someone each day over the weekend.  I feel that if I can improve this at home, I can easily implement this into my school life.  Giving compliments to family members, I have found, is always a bit tougher than to those of strangers or friends.

What is the power of compliments in your teaching career?