The cumulative benefits of praising positive actions can hardly be overestimated. People like to be recognized for the good things that they have done, whether in work, school or simply everyday life. Teaching methods should employ the praising of positive actions in the course of positive reinforcement, which has been proved to be beneficial in the learning process. While praising positive actions is beneficial and necessary, negative actions cannot be ignored without jeopardizing the entire learning process.

Firstly, one must realize that there are as many different methods of teaching as there are different types of people. Whether the teacher is an educator in a school system, an employer in a work situation or a parent training a child, the proper technique of teaching must be found for that particular person being taught. Different students learn better through different styles and methods of teaching. However, no matter what the method or style of teaching, it is fundamental that the teacher praise the positive actions of the person being taught. Positive reinforcement is an integral part of the learning process.

Though positive reinforcement can play a tremendous role as a motivator for the continuance of positive actions, negative actions cannot be simply ignored and expected to go away. Think about the situation of a small child that is being taught how to get along with other children. There is a natural tendency for children to be selfish with their things, to not want to share anything with any other child. The child may take more toys than he or she can play with at one time to keep for him or herself. Although the child may be doing everything else right, for example, playing quietly and using the toys in a proper manner, the negative action of hoarding toys cannot simply be ignored if the child is to learn to get along in society. Praising the positive actions of being quiet and playing properly with the toys will certainly encourage those positive behaviors, but this does not address the underlying problem of selfishness. To merely ignore the selfishness will not teach the child to share with others. In this case, it is easy to see that solely praising positive actions will not be the best way of teaching the child to get along with others.

Similarly, an employer cannot properly train employees by only praising positive actions and ignoring negative actions. Contemplate the situation where an employee does everything right – arrives on time for work, accomplishes tasks efficiently, never misses work and is pleasant and approachable in the work place. All of these are positive actions that should be praised and encouraged in any place of business. However, this particular employee must be told what to do for every task – the employee lacks the initiative to do anything on his or her own. This is a form of negative inaction that will keep the employee from reaching his or her full potential on the job. Simply praising the employee’s good characteristics while ignoring his or her lack of resourcefulness will never result in a better-trained employee. The boss must take a proactive stance to change the employee’s behavior and eliminate the negative action of waiting to be told what to do.

In summary, merely praising positive actions is not enough to properly teach or train a student, employee or child. Negative actions must actively be discouraged in order for the individual to learn properly. Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator, but negative actions must be addressed to properly teach or train an individual whether in an academic, business or home environment.

(600 words)

参考译文

最好的教育方法——无论是作为教育者、雇主还是父母——是称赞正面行为，忽视负面行为

称赞正面行为所带来的整体好处，再多估量也不为过。人们做了好事喜欢得到承认，无论是在工作中、学习中还是在日常生活中皆是如此。教学方法应该运用在正强化过程中称赞正面行为这一做法，这在学习过程中被证明是有益的。虽然称赞正面行为是有益的而且是必要的，但负面行为却不应该被视而不见，因为这样会危害整个学习过程。

首先，我们应该认识到，有许许多多不同的教学方法，正如有许许多多不同类型的人一样。无论教育者是学校里的老师，工作环境中的雇主，还是训练子女的家长，都应该为受教育的那个人找到恰当的教育方式。不同的学生通过不同教学风格和方法可以学得更好。然而，不管教学风格和方法是什么，教育者称赞受教育者的正面行为，这是最基本的。正强化是学习过程不可分割的一部分。

尽管正强化作为正面行为持续存在的激励因素可以起到巨大作用，但是负面行为不能简单地被置若罔闻，以为它会自行消失。想一想一个受教育的孩子如何与其他孩子们玩。孩子们都有自私的倾向不想让其他孩子玩他们的玩具。这个孩子可能拿很多玩具，超过他/她一个人在一个时候所能玩的。虽然这孩子可能做其他事情都很正确，例如平静地玩耍以及正当地处理他/她的玩具，但是隐藏玩具这种负面行为却不应该被视而不见，倘若这孩子要学会在今后的社会里生活的话。称赞安静地玩以及正当地处理玩具这种正面行为，当然会鼓励这些正面行为，但是这并不能解决自私这一根本问题。忽视自私，并不会教育孩子与别人共享玩具。因此，很容易看清，仅仅称赞正面行为并不是教育孩子与别人和睦相处的最佳方法。

同样，一位雇主不可能靠仅仅称赞正面行为和忽视负面行为来恰当地培训雇员。想一想这种情况，一个雇员任何事情都做得不错——准时上班、效率很高、从未耽误工作，而且在单位与他人相处很好。所有这些在任何行业都是值得称赞和鼓励的正面行为，但是，这位雇员必须得有人告诉他该干什么——这位雇员缺乏工作的主动性。这是负面惰性的一种形式，它使雇员在工作中不能充分发挥潜力。仅仅称赞雇员的优点而忽视他缺乏主观能动性，永远也培养不出一个更加训练有素的雇员。老板必须采取积极的立场以改变雇员的行为，消除他等待吩咐这种负面行为。

总之，仅仅称赞正面行为不足以恰当地教育或培训一个学生、雇员或孩子。负面行为必须被正面地制止以便让受教育者正确地学习。正强化是一种有力的激励因素，但负面行为必须予以解决以便正确地教育或训练一个人。无论在学术领域，工作单位还是在家庭环境，皆是如此。