Transcript

Welcome to the Teacher Support Network Podcast. I'm your host, Antoine McCoy, and today we're diving into a topic that every educator, parent, school community should embrace, and that's celebrating student successes, particularly for students with disabilities. 

We often focus in school on grades, big achievements, or large milestones, but often forget about the small victories that really shape a child's confidence and growth.

So in this episode, we're exploring why recognition of small wins and progress really matters, the impact it has on students with disabilities and you as a teacher, and simple ways to celebrate every step forward. 

So let's talk about why celebrating student success is so important.

Every child deserves to feel valued. For students with disabilities, success may look really different. It could be learning to tie their shoes. It could be improving their self advocacy. It could be mastering a social skill. And even improving one grade level in reading or math, even when they are still several grade levels behind their peers.

So when we celebrate these small wins, we reinforce positive learning experiences. We help build their confidence and it creates an inclusive environment where every student, especially our students with disabilities can feel capable and empowered. 

So here's some specific benefits it can really have on students.

For one, it can boost their self confidence and their motivation to just really stay involved in school and engage in the learning. It can encourage persistence and, like I said, more engagement in learning and taking risks. And it can promote a sense of belonging in the classroom, which is super important in terms of  them growing as individuals.

Also celebrating student successes also has benefits for us as teachers and the whole school community. Think about it. When we celebrate student successes, whether big or small, it strengthens the teacher-student relationship. It creates a more inclusive classroom culture, which is something we're always trying to create as teachers.

Also, it reinforces the importance that progress over perfection is the most important goal for our students, especially those with disabilities. 

So I want to share a personal story with you that really kind of hones in and really reinforces why celebrating student successes are super important.

So I had a ninth grade student in my social skills class. He was an English Language Learner. He had autism and communication challenges, so he met with a speech and language pathologist to help him with his communication. The student seldom spoke in the class and would sometimes just write down as best he could what was on his mind.

Sometimes he'd give yes and no answers when I asked him very concrete questions. Well, my class had spent a few weeks exploring their learning styles, what helped them be successful at school, identifying their strengths, and what they wanted to do after high school. This was part of a unit we were doing on self advocacy.

So, they took all that information and put it into an “All About Me” PowerPoint presentation, which they had to present to the class on the final exam day. So we worked up this project and on the final exam day, they had to present it to the class as part of their grade. 

On the day of the exam, I think I was more nervous than him because I knew communication was a challenge for him and I didn't know what he was going to do when he was going to be called upon to present.

Well, long story short, he was the last person to present and he needed some encouragement from me to speak clearer and louder because he mumbled a lot. But he shared his presentation as best he could, which really let the class know a lot about him and things that they never knew that they found in the slides of his presentation.  Also, the design of his slides were really amazing and it really gave us a glimpse into who he was as a person and his talent with putting together PowerPoint presentations. 

Well, I will never forget when he finished presenting his last slide and he looked up at me and the class and immediately all of his classmates, who he had never spoken to, stood up and gave him a standing ovation, which was not planned at all. It was such an amazing thing to witness as a teacher.

He gave a slight smile and his classmates started chanting his name and a few even ran over to him and gave him a fist bump. I was so happy for him because this was a huge success for him to speak in front of the class. Not many people got to experience this that day because it was only my class, which was under 15 students.   That day he was celebrated.

I know it boosted his confidence and he felt a real sense of belonging in the classroom. It was a moment in my teaching career that I'll never forget. To this day, even as I share this story with you now, it still makes me smile as his former teacher. 

So what are some ways to celebrate students' successes in meaningful ways?

How do we celebrate students' successes in ways that really matter? Because it's not all just about rewards. It's about making sure students really feel truly recognized. So here are some ways that we can celebrate students' successes in meaningful ways that I want to share with you. 

So one way is through personal acknowledgement and feedback.

A simple, I see your hard work, can really touch their heart. And giving personalized feedback really helps students feel noticed and valued. 

Another idea is you can have classroom celebrations. Try having a success bulletin board where you can post student achievements no matter if they're big or they're small.

Peer to peer shout outs are also great when, you know, catching your peer or classmate doing something good that they shout out for each other. It is really encouraging for them. 

A third way to celebrate student successes is to involve a student's family.

Parents play a huge role in the education of their child. So, a quick note home, an email, or a phone call about a student's progress can go a long way to really make a child's day and their parent's day as well, especially when a parent usually only hears about the academic, social, or behavioral challenges that their child might have, especially if they have a disability that impacts them.

Finally, you can maybe do something school wide if it's appropriate, like sharing student successes in school announcements, school wide emails, or even a school newsletter that might go out.  You can celebrate their successes on a larger scale with these methods. 

So, celebrating student success is more than just a nice gesture.  It's a crucial and important part of fostering competence and inclusion in the school environment and in your classroom environment. 

So whether you're an educator, a parent, or part of the larger school community, take time to acknowledge student successes in the classroom and at home. Let's make success about more than just grades.

Let's celebrate progress, all the small wins, the perseverance of our students who really work hard and especially  recognize our students with disabilities who may not receive consistent recognition in the classroom environment. 

So, now I'd love to hear from you. How do you celebrate student successes in your classroom?

Share your thoughts with me in the comments section on the show notes page for this episode. And don't forget while you're there to subscribe and leave a review. 

Okay, that's it for today's episode. If you found this episode helpful or you know anyone who could benefit from the message, as always, please share it with a fellow teacher or educator.

Until next time, continue to celebrate student success and take care. Talk to you later.

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