Smile, it's worthwhile! :)
A smile on someone's face is the single most universal sign of happiness and approval. It breaks language barriers because it shows a positive and warm emotion that translates to anyone, anywhere in the world. By the same token, the absence of a smile also gives a brisk uninviting emotion, one we are all too familiar with. Adding this single concept to the everyday classroom will take a student's critical thinking to an all new level. The reason is simple, a warm reception will most likely yield a warm response. It is the basic human need of love and belonging. A happy student is receptive to the world in a positive light!
As a student, I love to read a story and be allowed to express how that story made me feel. It was always an essay in place of a short answer response because I could put my thoughts on paper until the break of dawn. I was more likely to remember a detail of the lesson if I was allowed to feel the part and become the character, establishing a connection with the piece. Many times students are asked to discuss the thesis in detail and find themselves providing an "invalid argument". Students are unable to bring conformity to chaos and support the argument to a thesis statement that they didn't even create. But by reading the piece with an open mind, and allowing the story to touch them, they realize that all that was missing to conform the chaos was the feeling.
I was always fortunate enough to have positive elementary school teachers in front of me each morning. A smile and encouraging words from the authority is the prerequisite to a student feeling free to show emotion in the classroom. I love a teacher that realizes that if a student can feel the lesson. it is a lesson learned.
We are all human, and the basics of human instinct deal with our ability to feel emotion and relay those feelings. Applying this in classrooms by providing a positive atmosphere, encouraging them to embrace the story by feeling it in a new light, and expressing themselves, makes each school day a huge win.
