Positive Feedback Goes a Long Way

Recently, we were asked to start an initiative at my work. We were told to call one family each day to share a positive thing about their student. I’m a teacher who works in a school that services families of all backgrounds.  

Many of these families are of a low socioeconomic background. A vast number of these families have a child with a disability.  They often do not hear words of encouragement. It’s not something they are used to hearing.

It has been my pleasure to make these calls to families.

I can hear the relief and joy in their voices when they are told a positive thing about their child. For once in their parenting journey, they feel encouraged to receive a phone call from the school.

For me, I can completely relate to their feelings of relief an

d joy. I know the feeling because I have experienced the dread of another call from the school.

I often wish I did not receive so many calls from the school. Most calls have not been positive. They usually consist of reports of behavior or medical emergencies.

But today, that narrative changed. 

I received a phone call from the school nurse. She was assuring me that my daughter was ok after hitting her head on her cubby at school. 

However, that was not all she shared with me.

 She stopped to share something she noticed when she saw my daughter today. The nurse was so impressed with the progress that my daughter had made over the summer. She could not believe how well she was communicating and behaving while in the nurse’s office. 

The words played in my head like a sweet sound.

After my daughter got home from school, her ABA therapist also shared feedback that the music teacher had spoken about her. Although I wished the music teacher would have called me to share this feedback, it was nice to know that progress was being seen across the board. 

For once, I was hearing positive feedback about my daughter. My daughter has a disability. She has a rare genetic syndrome and Autism. Families like mine often do not get positive phone calls home.

So, my point here is…. a positive comment goes a long way. You may not work at a school like me. However, that does not mean you cannot play a role in the narrative of a child.

 You can give positive feedback to any parent. 

If you are at a park, church, store, etc.… say something positive to a child’s parent about their child. It will give a parent validation that they are doing something right.

You could make someone’s day a whole lot brighter by sharing a positive comment.