Inviting the Positive
By Jill Hare
For Frank Merritt

Currently, I am responsible for approximately 150 unique high school students ranging in age from 14 years to 19 years. I attempt to individually reach out to all of my students on a regular basis when they are in my class. From my experience as a drama teacher, I have found that this practice does elicit positive results, but I have also found that the majority of my students need more than just positive feedback during class time. Therefore, positive statements were extended beyond the classroom with more rigorous effort given to twenty students who, through observation, needed the extra attention.

The twenty students chosen to receive an extra dose of positive reinforcement came from sophomore English, junior English, beginning drama and advanced drama classes. Their needs varied as I identified students having emotional, behavioral, academic and/or physical concerns. I set into motion a plan that would entail positive interaction with each student before the beginning of the school day, sometime during the day outside of the classroom and at least one time in class. My goal was to achieve a relationship similar to that which I have formed with troubled students in the past. I wanted, by the third day, for the chosen students to initiate the positive interaction.

On the first day of this project I arrived at school, list of students in hand, at one-half hour before the first bell. I already had a fairly good idea where to find each of these students. From the cafeteria to the library to the halls and parking lot I located all but two students and personally greeted each of them. I met the two students I couldn’t locate later when they, as usual, arrived halfway through the first period. Even though they were late, I thanked these students for successfully making it to school.

In their various classes, the students were greeted at the door, called on to participate in class and received positive feedback for their participation. The third daily interaction came either at lunch, in the halls or outside immediately following the final bell. This pattern was followed on the second day. By the end of the day, nine students initiated the interaction, five students more freely participated in class discussions and three students were pulled out of class for various reasons, one to go to In School Suspension (ISS). I made sure to follow up on this student by delivering missed work to her in ISS. Another student who was pulled from class was called to the principal’s office. She has a history of fighting and using profanity at the most inappropriate times. On the bench, outside of the principal’s office, she cheerfully informed me that this time she was merely guilty of a dress code violation. I responded by letting her know that I was glad that she hadn’t gotten herself into more trouble. On the third day I would be visiting her in ISS. The third student pulled from class was gone for the remainder of the day. I never caught up with him for the end of the day interaction.

By the third day the most remarkable transformation was found in a young man who had unfounded outbursts of anger and extremely defensive behavior. On the third day he greeted me at the classroom door with a smile on his face. He has been a much happier student in class giving other students positive reinforcement instead of frustrated, verbal lashings.
As for the habitual instances of tardiness, they haven’t completely vanished, but both students have succeeded in making it to class a bit earlier and have begun to apologize for their tardiness.

The most rewarding change came in a rather smart talking young man who, I believe, uses acting out to cover the fact that he is learning disabled and doesn’t understand at the same rate as most of the other students. I have always gone to him to check on his progress and have paired him with a student who is a good friend and understands his needs. I was walking down the hall when I saw him with a bunch of his friends. He shouted at me, “Hey, Mrs. Hare!” and put his hand up to receive a “high five”. Later in the day he came to me in another class to turn in some work. It was the first time he came to me instead of me having to go to him for his work.

Another student, a freshman girl who I have written about before, brought other students, some of whom were in the targeted group of twenty, to the drama performance of “Interview.” All of the kids greeted me with hugs and were extremely talkative, relating what they had been doing prior to their arrival.

The most obvious result of this study was my attitude. I tend to feed off of a student’s behavior and this, at times, results in me having to work quite hard at resolving a behavioral problem. By extending a positive attitude to those students with special needs, I found that they, in turn, were extending a positive attitude to me. We began feeding off of each other’s newly found relationships. I found within myself a new vigor as less energy was being extended and wasted. Though there were no direct comments made by the students relating to these newly formed relationships, there were obvious changes in both behavior and work ethic. Students expect me to acknowledge their presence in the halls, at the store or in a restaurant. I want students to acknowledge me in the same manner, extending the positive interactions beyond the classroom, so that I am not merely a classroom teacher, but an individual who is in some way a part of their lives.

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