Improving the World a Little Bit at a Time

I am a college teacher so I am deeply interested in education and how it can be improved.  I teach in a wonderful Business School so I am also equally interested in business operations and how they can be improved.  Whether it is education or business, how can we help to make things operate better?

A dear friend of mine sent me this (slightly modified) email from one of her students this week.  I thought it was “teacher as mentor” at its best.

“I remember I did well on our first test, and you wrote a comment saying that I should consider the major. While it may have been meant as a light-hearted statement, simply congratulating me on my test grade, it actually helped me out. At that time, I was really unsure of what I was going to major in at school, and as a result, what I would focus on in the future. Although I had been interested in your class, your comment actually helped me realize that it may be the right path for me, and now I plan to declare it as a major.

“I just wanted to thank you for that comment, however unimportant it may have seemed, because I would often think about it when trying to decide which direction to go in terms of my education and beyond. It was a constant reminder of my skills and interests, and I believe I have now made the right choice.”

Many of us originally became teachers because we wanted the opportunity to have a positive effect on the lives of others.  Looking back over my 50+ years as a teacher, that has certainly been one of the true highlights to this career. 

Therefore, I found it interesting how little the professor in the above email did and how significant the effect was.  You do not have to move mountains to have a significant impact.

(a) – The teacher took the time to notice that the student had done well on a test.  The student really had done a good job.

(b) – The teacher took a bit more time to compliment the student on those efforts. 

And then--

(c) – The student was encouraged to take what might turn out to be a very significant step if that person’s life. 

Does it get better than that?

We all want to change the world but, usually, we are so overwhelmed with all the problems that we feel helpless.  Nevertheless, whether you teach in school or work in a business or some other organization, there is one thing we can all do that will help make things better.

Pat someone on the back for a job well done. 

It is so easy and, yet, the ramifications can be enormous.

Who in this world doesn’t want a compliment, a pat on the back?  “You did a good job.  Thanks,” will make anyone sit up straight and smile.  Trust me on that.

Unfortunately, from my vantage point, the number of pats on the back that are given out each day is miniscule.  When is the last time someone did that for you?

Or, maybe more importantly, when is the last time you patted someone on the back with a compliment?  Not just a quick, “Thank you.”  I mean, “I saw what you did and you did it very well.” 

All you have to do is:

--Be observant.  Always, be on the lookout for well done work.

--Communicate the compliment.

Think how much more upbeat your business organization would be if all of the people in charge gave out a pat on the back once each day rather than once a month or once a year. 

No wonder so many people seem surly – humans need to be recognized for what they are doing.  I think that is vastly under-appreciated.

Think how much harder your students might work if you (their teacher) found one thing in each class to compliment.  Go back to your office after class and send an email to a student and simple say, “That third question today was really hard and you did an excellent job with your answer.”  That will take you 10 seconds and you might literally have changed the student’s life.  Even at the very least, you will make that person happy and proud and that is well worth doing.   No one works harder than the person trying to get the second compliment.  

Make a pledge as your small part of improving the world to pat one or more people on the back each day with a compliment.

Yes, you will have to pay attention.  You will have to be aware of the people who are working hard.  Then, you will have to have the nerve to say something.  I would love to see every business person and every teacher take that on as a “habit activity” – something we come to do all the time as a natural part of our lives.

The world could certainly use more pats on the back.  Maybe things would start to look a little brighter to all of us. 

THREE PERSONAL WORDS

 

Last week, I had the great pleasure of speaking at Longwood University to approximately 40 seniors who were getting ready to leave campus to do their student teaching.  They were going out to elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in order to get practical experience in the art of teaching.  I can only imagine how tense and excited they must all have been.  It has to feel like stepping off into the unknown.

They had meetings all morning followed by a nice lunch.  I was asked to be the after-lunch speaker.  That was truly a pleasure and an honor.

I began by telling them that I was going to give my speech but, first, I wanted to start with a three-word message that came directly from my heart personally to them. 

I had three words that I wanted them to hear independent of the speech.  Those words were personally from me.

However, before I unveil those three words here on my blog, I have a bit of a different story to convey first.

**

This morning I received an email from a student who was in one of my classes here at the University of Richmond a few years ago.  He had graduated and, from what he told me, seemed to have created a successful career for himself.  The message that he wanted to tell me this morning was, “Looking back on those classes, I developed the confidence to be okay with giving an answer that may be wrong. We were all learning at the time.”

What a nice story:  his career was going well and he had developed confidence and knowledge in my class.  Confidence and knowledge – hard to ask for a better outcome.

What made this story especially interesting to me was that (and I checked this to be sure my memory was accurate), he finished the semester with the lowest overall average in my class that semester.  Lowest.  Bottom.  His test grades were consistently poor.  If you looked at just my grade book, you would have viewed this as a loss for me and a loss for him.  A wasted class.  But clearly, it wasn’t. 

His email reminded me of some advice I gave the student-teachers at Longwood:  Don’t become so enamored of your A students.  Yes, we all love the students who make 100.  They make our jobs easier.  We swell with pride when a student makes an A+.  However, from my experience, many (if not most) of the A students really do not need much from us.  They often know how to study, how to do the difficult thinking that is needed, and how to be efficient test takers.  They are well formed as students before they get to us. 

Where we can provide the most benefit is with the other students.  The ones who struggle.  The ones who don’t have the strong background needed to do well from the start.  The ones who can fall through the cracks if we are not careful.

As a teacher, what should make your heart sing?  What should you look for that will bring a smile to your lips.   I am always most pleased with the students who truly try.  That sentence sums up a lot of my teaching.  Those students take on the challenge and put in the work even if the grades are not great.  However, it is not just putting in a lot of time.  To a certain extent, I think the amount of time spent studying is a bit overrated. 

When I use the word “try,” I am thinking of students who break down the topic and work to ascertain how to view the material logically and how to come to an understanding of the subject matter.  There is a significant part of learning that is not tied to a certain high grade.  I liked the last line from my former student, “We were all learning at the time.”

I love it when students tell me that I helped them to learn to think and to learn how to learn in a more efficient manner.    

So, as you begin yet another semester as a teacher, never become too enamored of your A students.  You might be adding only a little real benefit to their academic journeys.  Look past that group to the students who struggle, for whatever reason.  How can you encourage those students to try (more and better)?  How can you add value to their learning, a value that might prove to be what they really need in order to succeed going forward? 

If a student simply will not try, there is little that you or I or any other teacher can do for them.  However, if a student is pushing themselves to learn and understand, the assistance you provide might make a world of difference in their lives even if they do wind up with the lowest grade in class. 

Here is my point:  Most of us got into the teaching profession in hopes of changing lives.  Where that happens is most often not with the A students.  They will certainly make you feel good but, as you look back over the years, the benefit you truly add is most likely to be with the students who struggle but never give up and keep pushing themselves from the first day to the last.

**

Okay, what were the three personal words that I told to the student-teachers at Longwood even before I began my speech?

I ENVY YOU!!

I think I repeated those words several times over and over like a mantra.

After 50 years in the classroom, my career is beginning to wind down no matter how hard I fight the urge.   Those students were standing at the doorway of a new teaching career.  Quite honestly, it will not work for all of them.  Some will be teaching the wrong grade or wind up in difficult environments.  Nevertheless, many of them are going to be changing lots of lives for many years.  That is for certain.  What a wonderful future they have in front of them.

They will be under paid.

They will be vastly under appreciated.

They will work way too hard.

I can promise them all of that. 

But, at some point, down the road, they will look back and say, “I have been a teacher.  I have helped my students learn—learn to work and learn to think.  I have helped to change lives.”

That is not a bad way to spend a career.