What's up on the 'Praise Wall'?

What's up on the praise wall?, originally uploaded by royblumenthal.

This is another resource for teachers and trainers to make use of.

It's a pretty simple concept. And Jennifer has implemented it in her classroom. And it's working a storm with fourth grade kids.

Here's how it works...

The 'Praise Wall' is a pin board on the wall, with a header such as this painting. The class members are invited to get up at any time they like to write a note of positive praise for a fellow class member.

That's it.

Very easy. Very simple. Very elegant in the way the positivity becomes something addictive.

We're going to be observing whether or not the kids abuse the system. But so far it seems to be flourishing. And it's flourishing pretty much with the kids policing themselves.

I'm thrilled that the idea has taken off. And I hope it can live on in other classrooms. Maybe it's one tiny way that peace in this world might be promoted.

I made this painting in several stages. Firstly, it's based on a sketch from one of my Moleskine notebooks. Secondly, I messed around with the pic in Photoshop CS2, getting the layout right. Thirdly, I painted the lettering and colouring in ArtRage 2.5. Lastly, I did the texturing and finishing back in Photoshop.