THE LEARNING BOOST S01E04 - ENCOURAGEMENT: THAT THING EVERYONE CRAVES

Hello There!

Welcome to the another episode of The Learning Boost, today’s article is written by Akola Florence Ayotunde who holds a First-Class in Information and Communication Engineering (B. Eng.) from Covenant University. 


She is an avid reader and a freelance tutor, she had also worked as an intern Air traffic services Engineer. She has a passion for creative writing and teaching.

So sit back and have a wonderful read. 

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So let’s dive into today’s lesson:

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Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know could be (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

I took a retrospective glance at some things I considered great achievements in my life a while back and I could conclude that they were consequences of two things; the Hand of God and Encouragement (from family, teachers, colleagues etc). 

A vivid example of the potency of encouragement in my life was when I was about eight and enrolled in a new school. I was extremely nervous about my performance since I was in a new terrain and had to adapt to new colleagues and teachers; I dreaded performing less than I did in my previous school where I consistently topped my class.

The mid-term result dealt a terrible blow to the childish ego I possessed and the boldly written 8^th position induced a heavy downpour of tears which lasted through the day. I concealed my report sheet under my bed and resolved that my default answer to my parents would be that I wasn’t given.

To cut to the chase, I expected reproof regarding my performance from my parents but the encouraging words my mum spoke still lingers and it spurred me to do excellently well, she said “it’s only mid-tem you still have another half term to put in your best”.

Learning is a process and in every step of the process encouragement is vital. Instructors, teachers and parents alike need to realize that it is the innermost desire of every individual to be encouraged, particularly in learning.

Encouragement refers to support that inspires confidence and a will to continue or develop. Encouragement induces internal motivation in an individual - it births that interest and commitment which makes an individual want to put more effort in any learning activity.

Encouragement differs from praise in the sense that it disregards results; praise is only given when one achieves a good result but encouragement does not take cognizance of positivity in the outcome.

Encouragement involves recognizing and acknowledging effort; which of necessity should be the focus if we intend to achieve maximally in any learning process. We need to realize that all learning involves mistakes and encouragement is essential in this circumstance for any learner to try and try again.

So, teachers rather than raise that whip at the slightest provocation when students fail to grasp all you’ve labored to impart into them, an encouraging word might do the trick.

Of course there’s the place of discipline and punishment but words of encouragement are seeds which will motivate them to chip in more effort.

Parents likewise should drop the “why can’t you be like this person?” cliché – comparisons place limits on an avid learner’s innate ability to improve. Students could be of help to their colleagues by not sniggering or making fun of them when they make mistakes.

Everyone yearns to be encouraged. Encourage someone today.

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That brings us to the end of this episode, hope you were able to get something out of it, cause I certainly did.

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