An excerpt from my latest at Edutopia:

1) Rarely Use the Word “Wrong”

Students need to know that you’re not going to press a buzzer every time they make a comment or ask a question, no matter how ridiculous. Starting the year off by accepting their errors and misgivings means that you get to know them and their style of learning. Also, you get to show them the way you’ll respond to questions for the rest of the year. The word “wrong” in a classroom is similar to the phrase “You can’t do that” in improv. It’s a non-starter and often inhibits further participation. We have so many ways to say that an answer is incorrect without using the word that keep students thinking, “I might as well not.”

Read. Share. Like. Share again. Thank you for keeping me writing.

Mr. Vilson, who thinks Jose may write about writing in a few.