“I gave a quiz — 20 questions. Student missed 18. I put a +2 on his paper and a big smiley face. He said, ‘Ms. Pierson, is this an F?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Then why did you put a smiley face?’ I said, ‘Cause you’re on a roll! You got two right, you didn’t miss them all. And when we review this, won’t you do better?’ He said, ‘Yes, ma’am, I can do better.’ You see, -18 sucks all the life out of you. +2 said, ‘I ain’t all bad.’ ” TED Talks Education.
Photo by Ryan Lash. 2013.