As a teacher your words convey an atmosphere and create the classroom environment. Genuine praise, belief, and high expectations in your students will make students believe in themselves and work harder in the classroom. Some teachers create an atmosphere of happiness all around them by their attitude and praise of their students. You will recognize these teachers because listening to them will make you smile. They get genuinely excited about students using vocabulary they have learned and about them explaining their thinking. You will hear phrases from these teachers such as, “Did you hear that? Jordan used the word dimensions and vertex! Wow! I’m going to have to put a smiley face on you.” On another occasion, this teacher I have in mind had her students ask her, “Can we stay in for recess so we can practice our 5′s times tables?” These students were so engrossed in learning from the encouragement and high expectations their teacher had for them. Focusing on building up your students will give you more positive results and leave you less worn out at the end of the day.
