16/12/2025
I saw this post on TikTok from a teacher that stopped me in my tracks 👇
Put THOSE kids in good news jail!
She went on to explain a strategy she’s used for THREE DECADES with the kid who is:
• always in trouble
• “that kid” every teacher warns you about
• the one other students already know by reputation
And she said it’s worked for her 100% of the time.
Here’s what she does:
👉 First, before the year even starts, she finds out who that “notorious” student is.
(Yes, people say “don’t judge ahead of time, give them a clean slate” — but she said, knowledge is power. Don’t use it against them, use it to REACH them.)
👉 Then she goes to their former teachers and asks ONE question:
“I know he was difficult… but can you tell me anything GOOD?”
Sometimes it’s:
• “He’s a great football player.”
• “She can really sing.”
• “He’s a talented artist.”
Anything. Just one strength.
👉 On the first day, when that student walks into her room, she says something like:
“Are you Johnny?”
“Yes…”
“I’ve heard about you.”
(At this point, the kid is bracing for the usual speech: “You better not cause trouble in my class…”)
Instead she says:
“You’re that GOOD football player I’ve been hearing about.”
She tells him she wants his game schedule so she can come watch him play.
Instantly, his whole face changes. For once, an adult heard something GOOD about him.
From there, she:
• Catches him being good
• Brags on him in class
• Tells him, “If you keep this up all week, I’m calling or emailing your mom/dad with GOOD news.”
Most of these kids have never had a positive phone call home.
So when she calls, the parent usually doesn’t even want to answer because school calls have always meant bad news.
She shared one story where when the child told his mom, “It’s my teacher,” the mom said from the background,
“Tell her I’m at the grocery store,”
assuming it was another problem.
Instead, the teacher said:
“Okay, when your mom gets back, tell her I’m calling to say GOOD things about you because you’ve been amazing.”
When she called again, the mom picked up before the phone even finished a ring. The teacher told her all the good things about her son.
The mom went completely silent.
The teacher thought she’d hung up… until she heard her crying.
She said, “He’s 13. No one has ever said a nice thing about my child.”
From that point on, that boy spent the rest of the year trying to earn another good news call.
And now the parent was a partner too, not just someone dreading school communication.
Her point was this:
📞 Most parents of “that kid” have ONLY ever gotten negative calls.
They can’t “fix” it at home if we can’t even reach the child at school.
So instead of doing what everyone expects; fussing, complaining, only calling when it’s bad, she flips it.
She catches them being good, calls home with good news, and that kid spends the rest of the year trying to live up to that version of themselves.
And it works. Over and over and over.
I just had to share this, because:
• some kids have NEVER heard an adult talk about them with pride
• some parents are bracing for attack every time the school calls
• and sometimes, the tiniest bit of intentional encouragement literally changes the whole story for that child
Good news is powerful.
Being seen for something good is powerful.
And for some kids, it might be the first time anyone has tried it. 💛
