Why celebrating achievements is important to us
Have you ever had a time where you put a lot of effort into something, were super proud of yourself for conquering a challenge and then got no praise for it whatsoever? How did it make you feel? Now thinking on the other hand, have you had a time where someone noticed the little things you did, or noticed that you had improved in a skill or took the time to compliment your achievement? How did THAT make you feel? Amazing right?! And I think I am right to guess that it gave you a sense of fulfilment and made you more motivated to progress even more. This is the power of celebrating achievements.
One of our fundamental and core values here at Future Gems is inclusion. It is our aim to really make sure that every child feels special, amazing, adored and appreciated every time they step through our doors. We know from experience and from studies, that when you are positively praised it intrinsically motivates us to want to do better. It helps us grow as a person when we are celebrated and valued. It helps our dancers grow technically with their skills because they can see their progress and they can see where they are headed.
In all of our classes we are so focused on building that positive praise so that every child can feel special. They can feel important. They can have a safe place that they enjoy coming to. In so many areas of their lives nowadays, there is competition. Competition to be better. To come first. Or to do the best work out of everyone. There are kids that try their absolute hardest and they are the most caring, kind, and respectful people out there. Yet, if they aren’t ‘excelling’ academically or skilfully, then they aren’t recognised for their hard work. The person who may have had that natural strength to win the cross country race is the one who takes the ribbon home. The one who naturally loves maths and finds it be quite easy so smashes every test, gets to feel pride of being first in the class.
Now I am not saying that these kids don’t deserve recognition. They ABSOLUTELY do! But I also believe within my studio, that it is important to give the kids who have tried their hardest and devoted time to learning a routine and worked as a team and helped their friends with a tricky step…. A chance to be celebrated as well. This is why in every class we compliment progress, we praise success, we encourage the preschoolers to cheer their friends on, we encourage them even if they make a mistake, we give them opportunities to come together and have a great time at our movie nights and lastly we ensure that every child goes home after the concert with a symbol of their hard work – a medal that they can put proudly on the shelf, knowing they absolutely deserve it just as much as any other kid.
Because, to me, I want every child to have something that they succeeded and ‘won’ in – for some kids it is their very first medal and that is a true, true honour.
