What is student recognition
Student recognition is quite literally what it sounds like. It’s praising a student for doing the right thing and making an effort to go above and beyond. I’m not saying to praise students for doing exactly what is expected of them, because I disagree with that too, but I am saying to look for students going the extra mile and make sure that they know you see them and value that.
How do you give your students recognition
There are so many easy ways to give praise to your students and reward them for their good nature. None of these are expensive or involve prizes (unless you want them to) and most of them are free.
Positive Praise During Class
This first one is probably the simplest. Just praise the students immediately and as soon as they do something good. If certain behaviors have been getting laxed then simply recognizing a few students for doing the correct thing immediately can help get the others to jump in line.
For example, if you want your students to come in and do bellwork as soon as they come in, but you see a few kids goofing off you can look for the kids that did the routine the way you intended. Simply say “Thank you, student name(s) for doing your bellwork immediately.” This will help a few of your goofy kids get it together because they want that praise too. If those kids still don’t get it then obviously reset the expectation with that student and then give praise when they finish bellwork within the allotted time frame or something different.
Student of the Week/ Student of the Month
Student of the Week is a way to help encourage long term good behavior and it can become a simple routine in your classroom to build a positive community and atmosphere. All you need to do is create or buy something that looks nice to give to the student so they can take their student of the month certificate home and show their parents. I have a good friend who has digital certificates and posts the child’s certificate on the facebook page for his program.
You could get fancy with the facebook page and make a template to show a picture of the student while you declare them the student of the week (I would be cautious if you have a large foster care population). I had a huge foster care population at my old school, so I would make the physical certificates and a facebook shoutout without a picture.
If you want to you could add a prize component to this. Your student of the week could grab an item from the treasure box or the music room store if you do anything like that. I don’t do those things, but if it is something that you’re into then go for it.
The only difference between student of the week and student of the month is the frequency of which you’re doing it. I like having more students of the month (so that it’s basically a student of the week) but recognizing them all at once.
I have a FREE set of student recognition certificates in my Tpt store that you can add to your Google Drive. It comes with four certificates that you can use all year long and a tracker to help you keep track of who you’ve awarded during the school year.
Shoutout on the class social pages, website, or newsletter
If you already have a classroom website or any social media pages for your programs, then this will be super easy to implement. You just need to make a template for your specific social media page and then swap out names or pictures and post it every week or month to your liking.
I’ve also done this where other people can fill out a google form and nominate someone for a shoutout. Just make sure that only you have access to the back end of the form because we don’t want student drama creating issues. If you decide to make a google form to create extra shoutouts then be sure to mention it and link it on any school pages and mention it in concert programs or newsletters home.
Positive notes and phone calls home
Most of the time when parents get letters or phone calls from the school it isn’t something good. We have the opportunity to change that by making a phone call home or sending a positive letter home.
Establishing a positive rapport with a parent is also a very valuable thing. I’ve been able to get parent support about behavior because the parent knows that I am trying to bring out the best in their child. It’s really helped me make a stronger team with many parents.
All you have to do is go down your rosters and pick one kid from each class and try to call or email that parent. It’s about 5-8 phone calls and emails a day, but if you stay diligent then you are finished in about a month (depending on how large your groups are). After you finish with the first round of contacts then you can chill and make contact when students accomplish something or notify parents that certificates are coming home and this and that and the other.
On the flip side, when you have to contact about grades and behavior, parents are going to be less defensive because they know that you don’t hate their kid. And it’s really nice to have a productive conversation with a parent instead of being verbally assaulted.
If phone calls are scary (which I understand) a positive note home can do a lot of the same things.
Why is it important to give students recognition
It’s important to give students recognition for a few reasons. Number one, we want them to know that they are valued in our classrooms. Number two, since a lot of kids still want to impress the adults in their lives (yes, even the difficult ones) they want to do good and hear that they are good. I have plenty of stories of my difficult boys sprinting across my room to pick up trash because they knew I didn’t like it and they wanted positive attention from me.
Number three, some kids come to school to feel loved and this helps them feel loved. I’ve exclusively worked in poor rural schools and a lot of the students don’t feel loved at home for one reason or another. This helps them feel love that they are missing from home.
Number four, it builds a positive and welcoming classroom environment. If you’ve ever watched the viral video of Rita Pierson speaking about education, then you know that making a positive classroom environment is so important! Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it before.
What is a good way to recognize students accomplishments
Use any one or any combination of strategies I’ve given you above. Make sure that it is sustainable for you. Since you are in charge of the climate of your classroom you have to make sure that you can maintain the climate. Start nice and easy with one thing, maybe the facebook shoutouts and then next year add another thing if you want to.
What kind of accomplishments should I recognize
I’ve recognized so many things. I want to make this clear, I ONLY recognize students for going above and beyond. For example, I recognize every student who auditions for anything in middle school. They’ve never gone through an audition before middle school, so the fact that they’re doing it is going above and beyond in my book. Extra recognition is given to students who pass the audition and are accepted into an honor band or choir (remember I taught both).
Here’s another small list to give you ideas:
- Auditions
- Being accepted to honor ensembles
- Improving on their instrument
- Being a cheerleader for friends and other classmates
- Being a great leader
- Helping out after hours without asking
- Mentoring a younger musician
- Cleaning or organizing something without prompting
- Being incredibly kind
Honestly, there’s something about each kid that you can praise. Just go out and find it.
Displaced Pedagogy 