Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results

In Joanna Lipman’s article “Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results”, she talks about her “tough teacher” that she had growing up. Mr. K, her former orchestra teacher, taught his students by calling them “idiots” when they made a mistake and showed little sympathy. When Mr. K died, he was celebrated by forty years worth of former students and colleagues. Lipman believes that Mr. K’s teaching style is the most effective way to teach and that it results in wonderful results from students. With this tough teaching style, students become more confident since they have been taught to never accept failure and to always try again. Lipman says that the following eight principles should be applied to today’s classrooms: a little pain is good for you, drill baby drill, strict is better than nice, creativity can be learned, grit trumps talent, praise makes you weak, stress makes you strong.

Although tough teachers may indeed get better results, there are parts of Lipman’s article that I do not agree with. I disagree that “praises make you weak”. When I was in Elementary school, it gave me confidence and made me want to do even better when I was praised by one of my teachers. The teachers that made the biggest impact on my life were the ones that encouraged a positive classroom environment and lifted students up instead of tearing them down. I definitely think that it’s important to be “tough” on students, but teachers should be tough in a positive way. Lipman’s former teacher, Mr. K, called his students “idiots” when they messed up, and his biggest compliment to students was “not bad”. I think that positive reinforcement and encouragement is extremely important for elementary students. When I become a teacher, I want to be a positive role model for my students, and I want them to feel comfortable coming to me with any problems that they may have. However, I will still be a “tough teacher”, just not in the way that Mr. K was. Although this teaching method may have worked for him, I believe that students need encouragement and positive feedback from their teachers.