The best way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones

It is the responsibility of the teacher to mould the student in the best possible way. In achieving this goal, the teacher might have to praise the positives and also have to reprimand the negatives. Contrary to this, the author suggests that the best way to teach is to praise positive actions and neglect the negative ones. The underlying assumption made by the author is that if we neglect the negative actions and just convey compliments for the positive ones, the person on the receiving end might end up focussing only on the good part and might stop doing the negative actions in the long run. I disagree with the author as this suggestion is based on multiple weak assumptions based on human psychology.

When a teacher decides to ignore the negative actions of a child, the child is not getting any feedback for his or her negative actions and he or she might end up thinking that it is acceptable to do the negative actions and that they will not have any repercussions. Contrary to the assumption of the author, such negative behaviour can get aggravated due to neglection. For example, a brilliant student in a classroom has a habit of talking to his peers during the lectures. Based on the author's suggestion, the teacher should only praise the student for his intellectual capabilities and ignore his negative action of disturbing the class during the lecture. However, in doing so, the teacher might be unknowingly reinforcing the habit in the student which will not only harm the brilliant student but is also detrimental to his peers as they are not able to focus in the classroom. Another apt example of this is, when we try to train a puppy dog, we focus on positive reinforcement as well as negative reinforcement. The puppy is given treats for doing things that we want him to do, like obeying commands. On the other hand, when we see that the puppy is doing something which is not acceptable, we convey our disregard for his actions by either not giving him treats, or by showing negative gestures. The idea here is that, if the puppy is never scolded during the training phase if he tries to bite you, he might end up reinforcing that behaviour and might end up biting some unknown guests at your daughter's next birthday party.

Sound feedback consists of both positive and negative criticism. Based on the structure of feedback, it is taken in a constructive or destructive manner. The best way to pass on feedback is to start off by discussing the positive parts, by sharing compliments and praise for all the good efforts. This can then be followed by a short and concise section where the teacher is passing negative feedback and also suggesting ways to overcome them in future endeavours. Also, when discussing the negative feedbacks, it is very important to not be derogatory and insulting. It is crucial that the teacher tries to invoke a sense of logic and reason in the child and try to elucidate how the negative actions can damage the outcomes of their positive actions. If the teacher conveys both of these parts in the best possible way, it can lead to two-fold improvement in the child. On one hand, the child will be encouraged to improve on his positive aspects and on the other hand the child will realise that his negative actions might dampen his positive efforts and might try to thwart them in future.

In conclusion, the best way to teach is to convey high praise for positive actions and subtly criticise the negative ones, while also conveying the best possible ways to improve on the later.