Dr. Justin Tarte

Hi Dr. Tarte. I think about this one often. I always try to error on the side of compassion, but is it possible for a perpetual clean slate to be detrimental to the student? Is it possible for the student to abuse that situation?

The opposite of"clean slate" is hanging onto mistakes, which is never the beneficial route for kids who make classroom mistakes. Most students have enough adults that have memories long on errors and short on Grace.

I think what you say is a false dichotomy. I'm nearly always happy to give a clean slate when a student has understood their actions. Do you give a clean slate to a student who, yesterday, made the bad choice of bullying another student?

I give a clean slate each day regardless of the previous decisions of previous day's. I expect each student to grow. Keeping a dirty slate tells them I expect them to stay where they were yesterday. It does not encourage growth and is a symptom of a fixed mindset.

Not only does grace cultivate growth, it also goes a long way in building trust between the student and teacher, augments self-esteem, and helps the student become intrinsically motivated to make healthy choices for themselves. Starting over is a naturally occurring phenomenon.

What would you say to a student who verbally abused a teacher and refused to apologise?

In the rare case they don't apologize even when honest effort by teacher to build a bridge, they really are demonstrating the need for a refresh and Grace. I just cannot see how holding a grudge moves a child forward in any scenario

So true! As adults, we aren’t on top of our game everyday. Ss aren’t any different. If anything, we should be more understanding of them. Many are dealing w battles we can’t even imagine being in. #edchat #Education