Criticism and Praise

When I was young I took piano lessons. My teacher would stand behind me, watching as I played. Sometimes he wrote a comment I appreciated at the top of my piece of music: "Excellent!" or "Nice!"

He also wrote comments I dreaded, like "Work on the rhythm!" or "Slow down!"

Things don't change that much. Adults still search for the positive comments and cringe at criticism. A test or paper returned with anything less than glowing praise is still an unwelcome sight.

But, what if we could invert our reactions to critique? After all, feedback is usually meant to inspire improvement. What if we saw statements such as: "I don't understand this paragraph!" as a chance to learn something? What if we viewed our critic as a trusted and honest friend rather than a misguided enemy? If a comment about our work is the truth, it is possible (though painful), to examine it and determine how we might make an adjustment.

This is one way academic miracles happen. An average student can make huge strides in the quality of their work if they will accept and benefit from criticism. A good student's work can become even better.