ABSTRACT
Celebrations are an opportunity to take intentional notice of what the learner is attempting to do and to comment on it in explicit language that validates the learner’s efforts. A cause for celebration in writing might be as small as dating the paper or as big as a student taking the initiative to reread a draft and then rewrite a stronger conclusion. A positive mind-set includes the importance of passion. Celebrating learners is all about joyful teaching and learning. In too many schools, the pressure to raise achievement is relentless. It’s hard to overstate just how crucial celebration is and how foreign it is to most cultures, not just education.
