Guest Post: 10 Credits Dancers Take With Them to College

Today’s guest post is courtesy Vicki Nelson. She and I connected over blogging but discovered a shared appreciation for dance. In addition to her professional experience within higher education, Vicki is the parent of two post-college daughters and one daughter currently in college. She studied dance for many years herself and enjoyed being a dance mom for 18 years. With this article, she’s put into words what a credit dance education, and arguably the arts in general, can be to young adults entering college.

Dance Education May Lead to College Success

As the mother of three daughters, I have spent 18 years as a dance mom. My daughters loved to dance. Each girl took ballet and jazz and one daughter added tap to the mix. We spent a lot of time at the dance studio! Two daughters have now graduated from college and the third is not far behind. No one dances any more.

Was it all a waste of time, money and energy? Of course not! My girls had fun, and learned to love and appreciate the arts. They gained a bit of grace and became more comfortable with their bodies. They made new friends. They had a great role model in their teacher. None of us regrets a minute of the time spent dancing.

However, I’ve come to realize that there are even more important benefits of growing up studying dance once students head off to college.

Qualities Successful Dancers and Students Share

As a college professor I work with college students every day. I see the qualities that successful students have, and I see the qualities that the less successful students lack. I believe that the dance education that my daughters received helped to reinforce many of the important qualities that made them successful in college and will help them succeed in their lives. I’d like to suggest ten of those qualities here.

1. Time Management

   This may be the single most important quality necessary for success in college. Students who know how to plan ahead, organize, and balance their lives are the students who succeed. Children who grow up adding dance to their weekly activities, especially those who may take several classes each week, must learn to manage their time. They learn to balance, to prioritize, to multitask, to make choices and sacrifices. These lessons will definitely give them an advantage when they get to college.

2. Discipline

   Anyone who has ever taken a dance class knows that it requires discipline. It requires discipline to show up to class, to control your body, to practice, to focus on the teacher. It requires discipline to give up other things to make room in your life for what is important to you. Students learn, and are able to practice, the discipline of making and following through with choices. When faced with choices in college, these students will be prepared.

3. Passion

   

   Photo by ssanyal

   Students who are involved in a dance program have the opportunity to pursue something that they love. In following their passion, they experience the benefits and the satisfaction that comes from following your heart. Hopefully, when they get to college, they will follow a passion for something – whether or not it is dance. They will commit to something simply because they love it – not necessarily because of a class, or a grade, or a career move. Loving something that you do is important in keeping balance in your life.

4. Commitment

   Dance students learn that doing anything well requires a commitment. That commitment takes time, energy, sacrifice, and follow-through. Dancers learn to stick with something. You cannot become a dancer over night. It takes time to develop as a dancer. College students, too, need to recognize that some things take time to develop and require a commitment of time, energy and sacrifice. In this often commitment-phobic age, students who know the value of commitment will make a difference – for themselves and for others.

5. Hard work

   Dance is hard work. As much fun as it may be, as fulfilling and satisfying as it may be, as good as it is for the soul, it is hard work. Dancers learn how to put in the hard work to achieve something. They are not afraid of doing something difficult. They know that they need to tackle a difficult task (or step, or routine) and break it down and work at it. Many college students worry about hard – hard courses, hard instructors, hard majors. Students who are willing, and able, and unafraid, to take on challenges achieve more.

6. Technique

   

   Photo by bombarosa

   Dancers spend much of their time learning to perfect, or at least improve, their technique. They know from experience that doing something well often happens because of all of the small details. A good dancer knows that a beautiful dance grows from good technique. Details matter. Details add up. Details take hard work. Paying attention to the smallest of details can make the difference.

7. Skill-building

   Dancers understand that there is always room for improvement. No matter how long you have been dancing, no matter how good you are, no matter how clearly you understand a step or how instinctive a move has become, there is always room for improvement. Dancers learn that you never stop growing in your ability, that there is always somewhere to grow. In college, they will continue to strive for something more.

8. Criticism

   Dance students understand that criticism is not a bad word. They understand that true criticism means helping someone find the best in themselves by giving them feedback. They understand that criticism is good and that good criticism helps them grow. They understand, because they have heard it being given for years, how to give good criticism to others. College students who are able to receive – and use – criticism will gain more from others. College students who know how to constructively criticize others – positively, specifically, non-emotionally – will be able to help others.

9. Creativity

   Dance is not technique. Dance is not skill. Dance is not discipline or hard work. Although all of those qualities are required, dance is ultimately a creative work of art. Dance students begin to understand that they have something within themselves that they bring to a dance. Dance students begin to understand that dance is greater than they are. It is the ultimate unity of the music, the choreography, the technique and the soul of the dancer that creates the dance. Dancers learn to tap that creative energy within themselves – and they will bring that creativity to all that they do.

10. Self Investment

    Ultimately, dancers learn to throw themselves completely into whatever they do. They blend the physical, the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual into a greater whole. Students who head off to college understanding, and having experienced, this totality of themselves will be better able to seek and maintain a balance in their lives.

My daughters no longer dance – although I continue to hope that they may return to it some day – but they have reaped countless benefits from their dance experience. The life lessons which they have gained gave them a head start in college – and in life. Current dance students may not yet realize that each time they lace up their pointe shoe, or take their place at the barre, or practice just one more pirouette, they are preparing themselves for life.

Vicki Nelson currently teaches communication at a small liberal arts college and has more than 25 years of experience in higher education as a teacher, academic advisor and administrator. She founded College Parent Central, a website designed to help parents navigate through the college years, to give parents information about how to be productively involved in their student’s college life while finding ways to allow their student to gain independence. Visit Vicki’s website at www.collegeparentcentral.com or contact her at vnelson@collegeparentcentral.com.

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College Days Ahead? Don’t Miss “College Parent Central”

I’ve provided a series of posts on Dance Advantage that provide prospective dance majors and minors with necessary tools for navigating within the dance department. CLICK HERE to visit The College Guide.

The transition to college, however, is a significant one. Therefore, I’d like to share a new resource called College Parent Central. As the blog name indicates, its focus is on arming the parents of college students with the tools they need to assist their college student. The information within, though, is just as relevant for students who wish to prepare themselves for what lies ahead.

Here are just a few samples of what you’ll find there:

The Course Syllabus: Roadmap to Success
Summer Preparations For Your College Student’s Transition to Freshman Year
Should My Student Consider Deferring Enrollment for College?
What Should My College Student Consider When Choosing a Schedule of Classes?
College Students and Credit Cards
Should My College Student Have a Car on Campus?
Discussing Campus Safety With Your College Student

Enjoy exploring the site!

College students, are there websites or blogs you would recommend to others about to head off to college?

Exclusively Ours — Anthony LoCascio Talks About Danceregister

In case you haven’t noticed, social networks are all the rage. Since 2002, when MySpace emerged as one of the Internet’s earliest leaders in social networking, interaction online has been focused upon building communities within this vast realm.

One such community focused entirely on dance is Danceregister.com. Though you may not have heard of it yet, the site has been around since 2007. According to Anthony LoCascio, the master teacher and Tap Dogs alum who helms the community, “Danceregister seeks to unify the dance world and to increase the strength of present dance-related entities for a more prolific future of dance in the physical, mental, and digital world.” Based in the Silicon Valley, Danceregister is in an excellent geographic position to investigate, explore, and test online technologies and ideas before they are widely exposed to the public. Therefore, Danceregister is ever-evolving, making use of these new technologies to further their mission, which is to create a positive legacy that represents and makes available, all aspects of the dance studio community in one safe, helpful, user-friendly, positive, like-minded network.

Anthony took some time to talk with me about social networks, Danceregister, and the online dance community.

Dance Advantage: In 2007 you launched Danceregister.com, a “gated social networking community.” Who is Danceregister for?

Anthony LoCascio: Though it was originally created for the safety of dancers, Danceregister ultimately became useful to each individual demographic of the dance industry. Our community is utilized by studio owners, teachers, students, parents, merchants, services, and even other dance-related web sites. It is exclusively ours, exclusively dance!

DA: I understand that parents are notified when their child applies to join Danceregister. That’s a great way to keep parents in the loop about their child’s activity online.

AL: We do send an email to the parent, as well as verification letters to dance studios. We monitor the site personally and have a volunteer “crew” to report anything suspicious in the community. In two years we have had a perfect record when it comes to the safety of our members.

DA: A gated community implies that there are additional security measures that ensure student safety. Are there ways you make certain that only members of the dance community are gathering at Danceregister?

AL: Because nothing in the world is perfect, we use a few methods which act as a checks and balances system. Some we make public and others we keep private. All of this is because of our main goal – safety. No other dance website can claim they are as safe as us.

DA: You are extremely passionate about the subject of online safety and I know that Danceregister was born in part from your concerns about students’ security on MySpace and other networks. What are some of the dangers related to the use of social networking sites?

AL: The idea is not to scare anyone but to educate them on the facts, both good and bad. In addition to personal safety concerns on Myspace and Facebook, there are issues that may result in damage to your computer, the spread of viruses, unauthorized access to accounts, and spam.

Teachers are also quickly learning that by using social networks they expose themselves to a “business mixing with personal life” scenario. Just because they don’t think to search out students online, doesn’t mean students are not searching for them. Plus assistant teachers may not be mature enough to see the damage one posted photo or video can do to a business. Look at Vanessa Hugeness (Disney), past American Idol contestants (Fox) or previous pageant winners (Trump Enterprises). Ask them what one mistake on the net can do to a person or how it can hurt a product or business. Also, studios are their own living, evolving worlds that can contain drama. Danceregister deters drama where a site like Bebo, Myspace, Youtube, or Facebook can easily fuel drama.

DA: So, in your opinion, should dance studios stay away from these larger networks altogether?

AL: When used properly, these sites can be useful. It would be wise to have a studio profile on all Facebook and Linkedin-type sites. These profiles should be used as marketing tools. They should include limited but clear contact info or links to your own studio web site. They should be seen as a way to direct traffic to your own web pages, not to “friend” students and parents. Studios should use these sites primarily for marketing and directing business. Danceregister, with its security measures, is better suited for personal networking and in-studio communication.

DA: Danceregister is free to join, will this always be the case?

AL: With the community currently small enough to control, we will continue to be free of charge. However, with provision of safety, technology, time and exposure comes growth and additional costs. In the future we may charge a nominal fee for a lifetime membership. This is to guarantee each and every parent has knowledge of their younger dancer’s presence in our network. As membership requests become more dense, this fee will help support the site and provide a faster even more efficient verification process. We can project the fee won’t be applied until late 2009 to mid 2010 and that it will be a minimum of $8.95 and not exceed $14.95 plus tax. The goal is to have the least expensive fee for a lifetime so there is no hassle associated with reoccurring fees.

One goal, which is firmly in place and will continue to be a focus, is to charge no fees for studio owners/teachers. However, to keep the site at certain standards, there will be fees for merchants & services in the future. I do not want Danceregister to become inundated with advertisements. We are not a vehicle which plans to rely on advertising. Danceregister has a personal, friendly, positive relationship with its users and represents itself and not other corporations. Any adverts will be limited in quantity and location.

DA: What are some of the things a parent, for instance, might do at Danceregister?

AL: There’s so much to do there. They could check out our forums, get or give advice, write reviews of conventions or competitions, post video, photos, quizzes, polls, and more all in a safe environment. They could consult with master teachers, visit my live chat (which occurs Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 PST), post questions to adjudicators of competitions, share or obtain knowledge of the dance world by reading live news and updates, and develop personal relationships within the global dance community. They could also look up their home studio’s information (each studio is divided into “mini-communities” or subsets), chat live via IM or audio/video with other parents, or have a meeting with a teacher — fewer trips into the studio!

And all of this applies for everyone, not just parents!

DA: In addition to running Danceregister, you are also a teacher. Do you think technology is changing the way we teach or the way students learn?

AL: Dance websites and exposure to individuals and ideas has been excellent for the dance community, as has accessibility and the ability to download instructional videos. I have a Dance4teachers subscriber who takes my tap DVD’s, uploads them to her Mac, and puts them on her ipod touch. Now she can reference them during class right in the palm of her hand. That is a big leap (pun intended) from less than 10 years ago when I was still sending people VHS tapes!

DA: What are some of your favorite resources for dancers and dance educators online?

AL: Early in 1999, when I started my first web site, just4tap.com, dance had a very limited online presence – mostly on forums. Therefore, there is great history on a forum site like dance.net. With blogs gaining recognition over the past few years, they have become the personal voices of the dance community. Tapdanceman, and Danceadvantage are blogs I personally frequent. Danceregister even has a public blog for people who are not part of the private community.

For investigating or developing professional dance gigs, there are sites like sceneinteractive, exploretalent, and many others. For music editing or cutting songs for a performance, there is www.musiceditingonline.com. Plus every dance media outlet now has web representation.

DA: Dance has certainly exploded online recently. How have you seen the Danceregister community grow and change since it began?

AL: When I started Danceregister, I had about 125 members and they were all from my local classes. The major focus of Danceregister was safety and due to the safety issues on MySpace, I chose not to advertise Danceregister directly to the public. Year one was all about working on the best ways to cost effectively provide an environment where it was safe to post videos and photos and chat about dance in a like-minded positive setting. I only used word of mouth to expose the community. That said, we had just over 350 members by the end of the first year.

Now confident in the verification system we had implemented since day one, year two’s focus has included content and exposure. We hit over 1000 members just before our two-year mark and have a great deal of content now on the site. It is time to let people know about Danceregister. Students are having fun, parents have peace of mind, and studios are starting to catch on to the communication benefits of the network. After all this hard work I am determined to get the word out! DA: Well, I love to point my readers to dance resources online so, I’m happy to help with that part. Can you tell us more about what’s on the horizon for Danceregister? AL: I am planning a video blog on Danceregister in September. These videos will follow me on an upcoming tour as I return to the stage with Tap Dogs. We are planning a contest also for September.  Just a few of the prizes are iPods, Danceregister swag, iTunes®/Napster/Rhapsody gift cards valued from $25 to $50, DVD classes provided by Dance4students, and more. The top prize will be a gift certificate for two concert tickets of your choice. I personally will be present at the Rhee Gold Teacher conference this summer. If you are at the event please feel free to stop by and say hello. Danceregister will have a table in the Exhibit Hall.

Backstage Bliss: 11 Guidelines for Students in a Dance Recital

Whether it is your first recital or your fourteenth, it never hurts to be reminded about proper backstage etiquette and behavior. Your studio owners and teachers may have specific regulations and procedures for you to follow. Adhering to these rules helps the performance to run smoothly for you and the others around you. Recitals can be hectic and stressful for those trying to make the day/evening go off without a hitch. I know your teachers will appreciate not having to remind you or your friends of these basics on recital day.

1. Don’t mess with other people’s props or costumes

This is a top directive of any backstage situation. Playing with or moving someone else’s props or costume pieces always results in one of the following: A) items will not be in the correct place when they are needed, stalling the show or leaving someone without, B) items get broken, torn, damaged, stalling the show or leaving someone without, C) someone being rather upset with you. If the prop or costume is not yours, don’t touch it! Even if you think it’s in the wrong place and are trying to help, you should just tell the person to whom it belongs or an appropriate adult.

2. Stay in your designated area

I know it can be annoying to be restricted as to where, when, or how you can go somewhere, especially when you are quite familiar with the building or backstage area. It can also be tempting to want to move from your green room (or waiting area) if your friends are required to be in another location. However, it is important to stay where you are supposed to be throughout the recital process. Why? Teachers and recital helpers have a lot of kids to keep track of during a performance. When their requests are ignored, you stand the chance of missing your entrances or causing someone else to miss theirs. Even worse, is that no one knows where to look for you should something unfortunate occur.

3. Bring something to do

Recital performances almost always involve a lot of waiting either during dress rehearsal or on show days or both. Even if you think you’ll be busy, it’s always a good idea to bring something quiet to do backstage as you wait (in your designated area). Some possibilities include a book, a simple card game, pens and paper, coloring books and crayons, puzzle books, even a hand-held video game if the sound can be turned off. It is alright to play games with friends as long as you can keep the noise levels down. Just make sure you are ready and in your next costume before engaging in an activity, and that you can drop what you’re doing immediately when asked to go.

4. Always stay one step ahead

Be on top of things and be responsible for yourself. Don’t rely on others to know what’s next, know where you are supposed to be, or what you have to do – not if you don’t have to or are old enough to do it yourself, anyway. This involves laying out your costumes ahead of time and knowing what order they go on, keeping track of where your dances are in the performance (and what’s before them), knowing what hair or makeup changes are made and when, being sure about which side of the stage you enter from, double checking that you have all you need before you leave the house.

5. Keep socializing to a minimum

There’s a lot of energy in the atmosphere at a performance. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement with your friends backstage, allowing noise levels to escalate and/or creating a distracting environment for yourself or others. To have the best show possible it is important that everyone stay calm and focused. After a successful show is the appropriate time to party. During the show choose calm activities (see #3) to occupy yourself and your friends and reserve your energy for your performance onstage.

6. Stay quiet in the wings

The immediate backstage area is not the place to go over choreography, have a conversation, or ask a question. Sound from backstage can carry surprisingly well to the “house,” or audience. If you are prepared, calm, and focused there should be no reason for talking in the wings. If a peer asks you a question, nod (if the answer is yes or no), and/or calmly remind them to be quiet with the universal symbol at left. Making noise in order to quiet others is not only unhelpful, it doesn’t make much sense! Which leads me to…

7. Be responsible for you and you alone

Unless you are specifically put in charge of a person or group, allow a teacher or someone in authority to take care of any disorderly students. If you know that someone missed being given an important direction, for example, when it is time to line up, calmly let them know and then move along yourself. Don’t waste time helping those who are not helping themselves because your only job is to be responsible for you. When you occupy yourself with what others are or are not doing, you risk missing your own cues, entrances, costume changes, etc.

8. Stay warm, stay safe

It is important to stay safe and free of injury backstage. If you know you have some downtime between numbers, wear a warm-up and/or legwarmers over your next costume (just remember to take them off!), staying active and mobile with full-body movements like noiseless jumping jacks or body swings, and doing some stretching to keep your body warm and limber while you wait. Other safety measures include not wearing soft shoes or bare feet in areas that have not been swept clear (especially in the immediate backstage area where often there can be shards of wood or glass, or things lying about from other performances). Your teachers will let you know if an area is safe to be barefoot but wear shoes/flip-flops if you are going to be moving about backstage in zones that may not have been cleared.

9. Be conscious of bleeding light

This is one that even those helping at a recital sometimes forget. If you’ve ever stood in a dark room when someone opens the door to a room that is lit, you understand that light has a way of “bleeding” into the darkness. This is why it is kept dark in the backstage area with only blue or other filtered lights illuminating the area. Being conscious of this means waiting until someone from the inside (who knows when it is “safe”) opens a door to the backstage area, or listening for the appropriate time yourself. Typically when you know that the dancers onstage are performing and being lit, it is safe to enter but do so quickly, quietly, and close the door behind you. Any light from backstage can affect the lighting design onstage.

10. Be conscious of sight lines

This is another one of which novices to the stage may not be aware. Sight lines are imaginary lines that distinguish what is visible to the audience and what is not. A good rule of thumb is that if you can see an audience member, they can see you. However, you must be aware of your whole body, not just your eyes. When waiting in the wings, it is a good idea to stand close to the curtain (without moving it) and back from the very edge. Some studio owners will place a line of tape for students to stand within or behind when waiting backstage. Though it can be tempting to try to see everything happening onstage, stay out of the audience’s line of sight. If your cue for entering cannot be seen from where you are waiting, dress rehearsal is the time to figure out a new cue!

11. Don’t argue

Last but not least, it is important to be courteous and respectful toward others, especially during a performance. This includes the teachers, parents, and others who are helping backstage at a recital. By showtime you should know (by face, name, or by an identifying badge or button) teh people who have been designated as helpers and what role they play in helping the performance to run smoothly. If you are instructed to do something or go somewhere, asked to quiet down, or are otherwise asked to respond to a request – just do it! Don’t question, don’t argue, don’t grumble.

If you happen to be absolutely positive that you are being misdirected, ask nicely to check the facts – “I am sure that I am to be in Room C, not Room A right now. Can we double check, just to be sure, please?” People’s patience can run thin during a high-stress situation like a performance. If your respectful response is not appreciated, don’t react. Simply do your best to comply with the direction given.

For those of you who still have recitals ahead, I hope that this list will come in handy. Remember that everyone backstage at a performance wants the same thing – a great show that runs smoothly and is fun for the audience and participants. Though the show’s organization may not be something you can control, you still have the power to make sure you are fulfilling your role to the best of your ability. Following these eleven rules of thumb will help to ensure that. Have a great performance!

What are some other things students should do or remember when they are backstage?

What are some things your studio does to keep things running smoothly at a performance?

Appraising the Value of Praise

One of the desires of a teacher or a parent is to create an environment within which self-esteem can grow in a child. The goal is to build confidence in a healthy way so that they can better deal with the every-day adversities and challenges that life brings, both as children and adults. Often, parents and teachers take action by providing children with plenty of praise, accolades, and awards. But, is there such a thing as too much praise? Is it possible for praise to backfire? How can one instill confidence without creating a dependence on external approval?

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Most experts seem to agree that empty praise like “Good job!” or “You’re awesome!” is ineffective because children recognize that these statements are not always accurately or sincerely offered. It has been found that students praised for being smart are less motivated to achieve than those appreciated for working hard. They believe their intelligence to be unchangeable rather than something that can be improved upon, in turn affecting their performance:

“Kids who get too much praise are less likely to take risks, are highly sensitive to failure and are more likely to give up when faced with a challenge.” – Why Praise Can Be Bad For Kids, ABC news

As you can see, because of such findings, it has often been surmised that too much praise can be a bad thing (as noted in the quote above). However, similar outcomes might also apply in students who are continually criticized. So is too much praise really the problem or is it something else?

Descriptive and Appreciative vs. Evaluative

A statement is evaluative any time we use “good,” “poor,” or “excellent” to label a person, skill, or effort.  Assigning a judgment tells the dancer how they should feel about themselves or what they did. Faced with continuous evaluation (be it positive or negative) by others, a student begins to depend on this feedback for forming opinions about themselves (self-approval/disapproval).

Evaluative Statements provide only temporary results. Sooner or later a student will find they cannot live up to your assessment. They may try to prove you wrong or, become discouraged, remembering all the times they weren’t “great” or “sweet,” or, feel disappointment any time their pirouettes are not deemed “wonderful.” Children labeled as “good” at something are less likely to discover exactly what their strengths or weaknesses are and therefore cannot build upon these things. Their improvement may slow or stop altogether or, they may focus only on this area, striving for more approval.

Why Do We Evaluate?

There are many reasons we fall into a cycle of evaluative praise or judgments. One, it’s easy and requires little thought. Another, more subliminal reason is because it creates dependency. It makes our opinions about what is good or bad matter and encourages the student to conform to our ideals, keeping us in a position of authority.

Be More Specific

Professionals in the field of education encourage teachers and parents to be specific when offering praise and, to avoid labeling children. Recognizing that students respond better when the focus is on the effort or work involved, it is presumed that the type of praise, not the amount, affects performance and motivation. “Your pirouettes look great!” is more specific than “Great job, Alison!” “Brooke, you’re spotting really well.” is clearer still. Even more effective, because it focuses on the work involved, might be something like “Hayden, you’ve been working hard on your alignment at the barre. Your pirouettes look wonderful!”

However, consider the power of a statement that avoids evaluating even the skill itself and, instead, simply describes and appreciates their accomplishment. For instance:

EVALUATIVE — “Hayden, you’ve been working hard on your alignment at the barre. Your pirouettes look wonderful!”

DESCRIPTIVE — “Hayden, thank you for working so hard on your alignment at the barre. Your turns have really improved!“

Descriptive and Appreciative Praise may seem unnatural or more cumbersome at first. It is likely that you will occasionally find yourself offering an evaluative statement – don’t be too hard on yourself! As you know, practice is key to forming positive habits and change. Like the comment to Hayden above, many times only a slight change is needed to make a remark more descriptive and less evaluative. It won’t take long until you’ve mastered the technique!

Here are some simple guidelines:

• Use “Thank you for…” instead of “Good job.” to show your appreciation for their work/attitude.
• Describe specifically what you see, hear, or feel - “Your spotting was really crisp and clear.” vs. “You’re a great turner.” or “Your comment to Jill hurt her feelings.” vs. “What a mean thing to say!”
• Stick to the facts about how you feel - “When you talk in class, I feel frustrated that I have to talk over you to be heard. It concerns me that you won’t hear what I have to say.” vs. “It is really rude to talk while I’m talking. You obviously don’t care about your dancing.” (I, I, I instead of you, you, you)
• Present a bigger challenge – “Now, try a triple pirouette!” vs. “Excellent double!” This works for a negative, too. If the students are spinning like tops but not maintaining their turnout don’t congratulate them for getting a quadruple, ask “Can you keep your legs turned out and still do the quad?”
• Avoid labeling – “Thanks for helping me put away the props!” vs. “You are so sweet!” or “I don’t appreciate your tone.” vs. “Alright, Ms. Attitude, that’s enough!”

With your conscious effort to select words that are encouraging without being controlling, that focus on the deed not the doer, your students will be able to form their own opinions about themselves, their actions, and abilities. By fostering, rather than fashioning their healthy self-esteem, your students can feel secure, capable, and supported and will become more confident and responsible as a result.

Further Reading

• Praise That Builds a Child’s Self-Esteem
• The Power of Praise
• Why Praise Can Be Bad For Kids
• Montessori Classroom – Descriptive and Evaluative Praise
• Can Adults Praise Children Too Much? (some alternative opinions presented here)

Practice some Descriptive Praise right now!

1. List three things that you might want to praise your students for in your next class.
2. Then, select ways you might state your praise descriptively.
3. Look for opportunities to use the phrases you’ve prepared/practiced in your next class.

Be sure to list your three phrases below in the comments so that others can see some more great examples!

And, let us know if you use or try this technique in class and share your results or thoughts!