The best way to teach whether as an educator, employer or parent is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones.

(This took 50 mins . gotto be faster) The author states that the best way to teach is to praise and encourage positive actions in the student and neglect the negative ones. Though at a elementary and superficial level the above statement seems to be quite tenable, an in depth thought points out serious flaws in the above proposed method of teaching.I would say that depending on the period of development of the individual and in what role the teacher is, the method of teaching should be manipulated. The parent is the first teacher to a child and he is responsible for the very basic traits and demeanor the child exhibits. It is highly imperative that the way in which the parent teaches or influences the child , be such that the child develops a basic positive approach toward life and the challenges that it offers at every step. Hence it sounds right to say that a parent should encourage the childs positive actions and make the child realize that these should be continued. What is more important though is that the parent should help inculcate a sense of judgement in the child, which puts the child in a position of discerning the good from the bad, the positive from the negative. Thus the teaching method a parent resorts to , is crucial in the sense that it lays the foundation on which the child bases his life and provides a yardstick for the child,to measure his experiences against, so as to make decisions in his future. While a parent who only praises his childs actions, may be successful in inculcating confidence in the child , on the other hand, maybe responsible for the child being oblivious of the importance of overcoming his negative traits. We are all familiar with the story of George Washington as a kid, who cut down the cherry tree in his backyard with his axe, and on being questioned by his father , honestly admitted on doing so. Had his father only complimented Washingtons honesty in admitting his flaws and not reprimanded him on the bad deed of cutting the tree, the father would have been only partially right in teaching his son. It is absolutely necessary that while supporting the positive attitudes, the parent in his role as a teacher has to subtely but surely impose on the child not to follow the negative traits. In the role of an educator as a teacher, It is similarly of paramount importance that the child be made aware of both sides in himself. When a teacher praises a student, it gives him immense incentive to outperform his own self.But when a teacher fails to make the student realize that his negative actions are to be curtailed , the student goes off the track. Over a short time period the student may show progress but over the long run his negative traits, which are in the incipient stages then, may develop into serious flaws with which the child will have to battle all his life. In the case of an employer-trainee relationship, the duty of the employer surely is to encourage the employee. This will not only result in better performance from the employee but also generate a sense of respect toward the employer.The employee will

feel cared about and guided rather than condemned and criticized which is profitable to both , the employer and the personal development of the employee.It has been established by numerous tests and surveys that a productive and conducive working environment is generated only when an employees work is appreciated and sufficiently compensated. But this does not imply that an employer should neglect the flaws of his employee. It contributes to the loss of the employer , if he lets his employee get away with his negative actions. It may give the employer a sense of pseudo-contentment a feeling that he is perfect and has no need to improve further. This will be significantly detrimental to both , the employee and the production capacities of the workplace. Therefore I conclude that teaching has more to do with the way it is perceived and applied by the individual and hence only encouraging his positive actions, may disable him in the very process of perceiving , thwarting his abilities and development to a great extent.