Doug Lemov's field notes

Reflections on teaching, literacy, coaching, and practice.

01.21.16 On ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’

[This post is updated w additional comments added at the end on 1.22]. This week NPR ran a piece on “no-nonsense classrooms” and described a program that advised teachers not to use ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ Some people might think I would agree with this advice.  A few have even suggested that this guidance ultimately derives…