Are Tough Teachers Better?

 Who were your most effective teachers? Were they the nurturing teachers or the demanding ones?

This is the topic of Joanne Lipman's article in the Wall Street Journal on September 27, 2013. She called her article, “Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results,” based on her book that she wrote called Strings Attached: One Tough Teacher and the Gift of Great Expectations. Lipman shares the techniques of a music teacher Jerry Kupchynsky as a model of what is missing in education today. She writes, “It's time to revive old-fashioned education. Not just traditional but old-fashioned in the sense that so many of us knew as kids, with strict discipline and unyielding demands. Because here's the thing: It works.”

Ms. Lipman shares how Kupchynsky was unsympathetic, unyielding and “made us rehearse until our fingers almost bled.” What about this uncaring teacher made Ms. Lipman see his instructional methods as ideal? How can she advocate for his techniques when research does indicate that supportive teacher-student relationships improve motivation, learning and achievement? The research furthermore highlights that caring teachers create classroom environments where students are encouraged to take risks and learning is emphasized over performing. Students who feel cared for persist in the face of failure. Mr. Kupchynsky's classroom was clearly not so.

Lipman feels that although she may not agree with the abuse students experienced, she feels that eight principles come from the “tough teacher.” 1. “A little pain is good for you.” - True growth is fostered by constructive and often painful feedback. 2. “Drill, baby, drill” - There is an element of rote learning that is essential for success, (i.e. memorizing one's times tables). 3. “Failure is an option”- when children understand that failure is part of learning, they perform better. 4. “Strict is better than nice”- The number one finding of a team of researchers investigating what makes a teacher successful was that “they were strict.” 5. “Creativity can be learned”- there is no such thing as a born genius, and through hard work one can learn the art of being creative. 6. “Grit trumps talent”- passion and perseverance for long-term goals is the best predictor of success. 7. “Praise makes you weak.” 8. “Stress makes you strong” - the appropriate amount of stress in childhood helps develop resiliency.

Each one of Lipman's points can lead to an entire article on its own. I do wonder, though, whether Mr. Kupchynsky's teaching style truly reflected these beliefs. Do we agree that tough teachers get better results than caring teachers? How about parents? Are tough parents better parents and raise better children than caring parents? Deep down, do some of us feel that “kids nowadays” are spoiled and overpampered and could use some old-fashioned, unyielding teaching?

These differing views on pedagogy remind me of the differences we had always learned between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai- who often come to mind as we get closer to Chanukah time and lighting candles. Today, when there is a machloket, we generally say the halacha is according to Beit Hillel. The Arizal maintained that in the time of Moshiach, we will “paskin” like Beit Shammai. Why? The Mikdash Melech explains that Beit Hillel represents kindness, (as his halachic rulings are usually more lenient), and Beit Shammai severity. Today, before the arrival of Moshiach, we are not capable of withstanding the severity of Beit Shammai.

I maintain that a caring teacher with high expectations can combine the best of both worlds. In her research, Judith Kleinfeld coined the term “warm demanders.” “Warm demanders exert influence on their students' learning through their relationships. They are not willing to let a child turn in lesser quality work or fail; instead, with compassion, they express their belief that their students can do better and are willing to work with students to improve their work.” They utilize the teaching style called “active demandingness.” This style is the balance of establishing a relationship with the students, while at the same time, holding students accountable. This is the “golden mean” of all middot- neither the extreme of being too demanding nor the extreme of being a “pushover” makes an effective teacher. As it says in Sanhedrin 107b, there should be a combination of compassion and justice, “pushing away with the left hand while bringing closer with the right hand.”

As parents, we are the ultimate teachers of our children and can utilize the “warm demander” model. It is not an easy balance, but hopefully gets “good results.”

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Advisory Updates:

Sixth Grade- Sixth graders worked on organizational skills as they organized their lockers and backpacks utilizing the P.A.C.K. method.  

Seventh Graders- Seventh graders culminated their unit on preparing for teamwork at Frost Valley as they learned the importance of Active Communication skills.

Eighth Graders-  Eighth graders discussed,  through some self-analysis,  that which makes them unique and the skills that they "bring to the table" as part of assessing who they will become as they embark on the next four years of high school.