About 250 schools across the United States are participating in a ‘No-Nonsense Nurturing Program,” a program that requires teachers to be specific, hold high expectations, and not say the word ‘please.’
One school that is making headlines for adopting the program is Druid Hills Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Denise Watts, the learning community superintendent for Project LIFT, which oversees Druid Hills Academy, said teachers are not supposed to say the word ‘please’ when giving instruction because it is not necessary.
"When a teacher is giving an expectation, the word please is not necessary...The best analogy I can use to describe my thinking about it is no one would say, 'Would you come to work today, please?’” Watts said to ABC News.
Though most students are taught that commands without using polite words like ‘please’ are wrong, administration in Druid Hills Academy say that students are adapting well to the change.
One “math teacher added that since using no-nonsense nurturing, her students’ test scores have increased and she now has 100 percent student participation.”
Some parents told ABC News they hold issue with the change, since they say they have worked hard to teach their students to be polite, only to have it reversed in school.
Others think the stricter expectations will be good for their child in the long run.
For teachers interested in learning more about the no-nonsense nurturing program, there is plenty of professional development material out there to help.
For instance, the Center for Transformative Teacher Training offers a one-day work shop on the program.
Additionally, this blog post from famed teacher-blogger Diane Ravitch includes a collection of videos and peer opinion on the subject.
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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor
1/18/2016
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