Teachers comments in workbooks

[TeachersPleaseSitUpAndTakeNote]

Please whatever you do, DONT follow a positive comment with a negative and deflating cOmment in your students books -

Example

This is very good work (child's name) - well done!
What a shame your work wasn't this standard earlier

I can't tell you how much damage to self confidence this has caused (my child) .........

I thank you - not!

It's not standard - positive, then target setting - but I'm not sure my children's confidence would be in tatters after it.

Poor choice of words - "shame".

IMO you should never deflate a confidence boosting comment!

Two stars and a wish, it's called.

I wouldn't have phrased my wish like that, however.

I'm not sure the example (is it real?) is a positive followed by a target.

"This is very good work (child's name) - well done!
Next time remember to check your (-spelling- punctuation) or Next time try to use a connective (give example)
is a target to me

Yes the example is real.

The day precedes prize giving - a poor way of explaining why child won't be getting nomination.

Comment entirely unnecessary and deflating - taking into account the giant leap forward and the work involved (at home) to get to this point.

Is this a state school?

I teach secondary.

I might write something like:

You correctly drew and scaled the axes and plotted the points accurately

Target 1: Draw a line of best fit
Target 2: Make sure you put the units on

Is that deflating?

I didn't say it was a target. In fact, I thought I said it wasn't.

Target for self - write more clearly...

The comment sounds like it has come from a teacher who hase been frustrated for some time by a pupil's effort and not doing their best.

Should teachers not be clear as to when they know a pupil is not doing their best?

If my child was lazy, I would want their teacher to call them on it. I don't think it would shatter self-esteem and would do them good to know they were in the headlights.

Not state.

So they know your child and are not trying to be politically correct or tick box.

My advice would be to support the teacher.

Surely it is a shame that your child handed in substandard work previously?

We have a WWW (what went well) and EBI (even better if) policy.

I know we have to do target setting to move kids on to the next level and make them aware of what they need to do to improve but what is wrong with sometimes just saying- "What a fantastic piece of work! Well done!"

(In fact if I am sure my books won't be scrutinised for a while then I do just that and throw in a few stickers for good measure!)

Not state.

Surprise surprise ;)

This is very good work (child's name) - well done!
Please keep working to this standard!

I think this is a slightly more positive way of phrasing the same point. If i had received that comment I wouldn't have been happy.

How old is the child?

"What a shame your work wasn't this standard earlier"

Isn't a target though is it?

Target would have been

Keep up the hard work (acknowledging that they have) and see if you can start using x and y in your maths/written work etc etc

I'm struggling to see what's wrong with the teachers comment and also to see why state/independent is relevant.

Ds1 is only in year1, so I have little experience of this yet!

letsgetgrandma what does that statement mean ? Seriously?

What's wrong with telling him that he should have been working at this standard previously? Can't a teacher vocalise his/her disappointment occasionally? I'm definitely in the 'tell it like it is' camp - much more honest.

IwishIwasmoreorganised I asked if it was state because the OP said the day before prize giving that's all.

To me it is implied criticism, "it's a shame it was this standard earlier" - to me it reads "if you'd tried hard enough it would have been" or similar.

I still don't see the relevance mrz. I went to state primary and secondary, we had prize giving every year.

We too had prize giving each year in my state secondary, I got the feeling however that this was primary age, don't know why.

To be honest I look at this that the teacher just hasn't gelled with the child this year - no connection - we are at the enc of the academic year now - surely the teacher had pi led up on this abd adapted teaching style accordingly and sooner ?

Picked up and adapted - (android phone )

I would have thought that prize giving is quite standard in all state schools, both state and independent .

I would have phrased the comment , excellent work, I particularly liked..... Now I can see what you are really capable of I want to see this standard every lesson .