The Power of Positive Speaking

It’s a funny thing that I know so many teachers who like to sit around and complain. (Not funny: ha ha). When the staff room door is shut I know many who would sit around and whine about this and that. Would we put up with that from our students? I hope not.

I try very hard to always be positive in my interactions with and I think it is to their benefit (and if a teacher can’t do things that are to the benefit of his students, then what is the point?). Last year my beginning band had a dress rehearsal before our final concert of the year. My colleague and I each taught several different sections of beginning band and we had one shot at getting the whole group together. We had arranged in advance who would conduct which numbers, I let her pick as long as I got to conduct the one I composed.

Beginning bands sometimes have the bad habit of sounding like giant kazoos (although not so much at the end of the year we hope). I usually refrain from telling this to my students. I would prefer I tell them how they can improve than tell them all the things that are wrong. When I took the podium for my numbers at the rehearsal I had the band run through the first number, complimented them on a few spots that were great, and then went on to have them repeat a few select parts which needed improvement.

My colleague then took the podium and conducted her first number. She didn’t get half way through before she stopped the group to yell at them about how awful the transition was. After she told them how NOT to do it, she told them to play it again with somewhat better results. There were several other errors that she encountered with the same fix. When she handed the group back over to me for my second number, the band still had not had a complete run through (good or bad) of the song.

I made sure I took an even more positive tack with my next number. I want my students to take the stage feeling like they are on going to have a successful performance. Again the full run-through was followed by more praise and more positive fixes to problem parts.
What message did the students take from my colleague’s treatment of her rehearsal time? By then end of those tunes did they feel well prepared to play those tunes in front of an audience? I think that with the short time I have to talk to a group before a concert my time (and that of my students) is better spent talking about the things we should do, rather than the things we shouldn’t do.

I have found that this can be even more important in elementary school. I remember taking a philosophy class in college in which the professor told the class, “‘Ought’ implies ‘can.’” I thought about this for a while and decided that if “ought” implies “can” then “Ought not” implies “can” too! For why would anyone tell you NOT to do something unless it was possible TO do it.

This is illustrated by my especially by my younger students when I make the mistake of phrasing an instruction or request in the negative. “Sally, DON’T use that silly voice,” will invariably result in 5 other students using a silly voice. “Bobby, DON’T peel the Velcro off the floor,”results in several other students also tugging at the Velcro strips I use to mark seating arrangements on the floor. When I catch myself making these mistakes I have to remind myself that the students need to know what TO do and not what NOT to do. “Sally, use your best singing voice.” OR “Joey (who is sitting near Sally) I like that you are using such a nice voice.” “Bobby, keep your hands in your lap” or “Sarah, I like how you are keeping your hands in your lap.”

I could say to my former colleague at HHOTRMS “DON’T BE SO NEGATIVE.” Or perhaps I could set an example by telling her in a more positive way.