How Toxic Positivity Demoralizes Teachers and Hurts Schools | EdSurge News - 1 views
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There is a certain TED Talk that teachers on social media sometimes reach for to describe the toxic positivity mentality.
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the late Rita Pierson’s iconic “Every kid needs a champion” talk from 2013, which is often played or referenced wherever teachers gather. In it, Pierson repeatedly stresses the essential value of forming strong bonds with students, and at one point says that kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.
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Untrue, say teachers on Reddit and Twitter, and unrealistic. Not every student and teacher will get along, and not every middle or high school teacher will be able to befriend each of their students. Still, under these imperfect conditions learning takes place.
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too much cheerfulness can be bad because it leaves no room for appropriate negative emotions like sadness, anxiousness or frustration.
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Toxic positivity is obviously frustrating, but it’s also harmful—even to those who genuinely believe in it. Research has shown, for instance, that bottling up emotions can lead to stress, depression and anxiety
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In the 1990s, psychologist James Pennebaker’s studies linked repressed emotions with suppressed body immunity, and found that releasing those emotions can boost our body’s immune system. A separate study has actually linked such repression to increased aggression.
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Frequently, excessive upbeatness isn’t used to lift spirits the way a motivational poster might, but rather as a tool of control and conformity.
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Teachers adopt this mindset and weaponize it against colleagues, particularly ones with unpopular opinions, reframing things on their own terms.