The Lesson of Trea Turner and Writing Instruction

Giving honest feedback in writing instruction is vital, but let's not forget the human element.

I remember when I first heard about the idea of a Philadelphia sports radio producer. It was an odd idea and it was meant with much criticism. After all, underperforming athletes should never get any sort of positivity. Jack Fritz tweeted that he felt bad for then Philadelphia Phillies newcomer, Trea Turner and that a standing ovation might help. I thought it was a great idea as so many professional athletes get booed—and worse—for not meeting fan’s expectations.

The machismo, and more importantly the historical treatment of athletes, of sports culture ridiculed the idea. After all, Turner just signed an 11 year, $300 million contract before the 2023 season. And, he was struggling for some reason. Through August 3rd, he was batting just .235 with 10 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 108 games. He didn’t deserve praise; he was an overpaid athlete who couldn’t live up to his contract. He should be better.

But, despite the talk show fodder and ridicule, fans took Fritz up on the idea and gave Turner a standing ovation. Each at bat, Turner was showered with positivity from the historically rough Philadelphia fan base who were infamous for their rough treatment of athletes and their booing Santa Claus.

That night, Turner got a hit.

More ovations.

The next night, more hits.

In the 48 games following that standing ovation, Turner would hit .337 with 16 home runs, and 9 stolen bases. Turner went from saying he was costing his team wins to thanking the fans and radio producer for helping him.

Now, we can’t definitively say that the ovation was responsible; there is no scientific proof. But, how can one not believe that this display of positive feedback—that the player was more than his results showed—unlocked whatever was bottled up in Turner?

Even if it didn’t, Turner believes that it did and it made him perform better.

We must incorporate the same feedback when we are teaching writing to our students. I know, that’s a big leap from Major League Baseball to talking about a classroom.

No, I am not suggesting standing ovations all day, but we must leave room for positivity in our feedback during the writing process. We must give it early and often.

First let’s breakdown best practice for writing. After students understand their task, how they are assessed, and see some models, a workshop model should be employed that allows students to write in small doses and then have mini conferences with the teacher.

One of the common mistakes when teaching writing is having students write their piece all at once. This is wrong for multiple reasons. It doesn’t allow for early intervention for the student. We must make sure that they understand the task. Structural or grammar issues can be better addressed earlier on in the process, rather than at the end. Once a student “finishes” an entire piece, it is difficult for them to go back and make major changes; they’ve done all the work. Why would they be happy to go back and redo an entire thing?

It easier and less daunting for a student to work in chunks. Write an introduction and come get feedback. Go back and implement it on that small section and then move on. Follow the same process throughout the entire writing piece.

It is during those conferences that good, quality, actionable feedback is needed. Students need to be told what isn’t working and taught how to work through deficiencies. Nobody is arguing that students shouldn’t hear negative feedback. They need to hear what is missing from the piece. But, often, in the name of actionable feedback, it is all that they hear.

That is a problem.

And, that is where we can apply the lesson of Trea Turner.

In many theories of feedback practices, it is emphasized that feedback should only be actionable and that a “good job” isn’t valuable.

That is wrong on so many levels.

If all students hear is what they can’t do, they will never tap into what they do well. Therefore, each writing workshop conference needs to have sincere “Trea Turner” praise. A teacher must find something that students did well and praise them for it. A “good job” here or “I love what you did there” can help even the most reticent writer become more free and willing to take chances in their writing.

This isn’t about being soft. This isn’t about coddling kids and giving them all a trophy. This is basic human need. If we want students to perform one of the bravest acts in school—which is writing—we must give them as much positivity as possible. We must shift the culture of judgement to one of risk taking. We must build confidence so that they are willing to hear the critiques, suggestions, and edits.

Think about Trea Turner. Here was a guy with a great resume, a history of success. He was so successful that he was rewarded that big contract. Yet, he was struggling in a new situation despite the background of past success. Once the negativity started, he fell further. However, once he heard some praise, a shift happened and he turned his year around.

Most of our students do not have a history of success with writing. The cross outs, the structure errors, and the “lack of details” is mostly what they hear. They are essentially getting booed every time they write something. They have no background of success to lean on like Turner had. They need to hear some praise in order to tap into their willingness to write freely and to receive that actionable feedback.

My “go to” praise usually goes something like this with my high school students.

“Damn, you can write.”

*usually an awkward smile here from the student.

“Really, look at what you said here; that’s amazing. You’re a writer.”

An English Teacher Standing Ovation.

Then, I will launch into how the best writers keep revising and we talk about what we can do to match that positive excerpt of writing throughout the whole piece. They go back and do that small part and come back. And, we have no problem coming up multiple times per session.

At the end of this process, a student is usually proud of their work and feeling much more confident to try even more writing techniques the next time.

If we want kids to be receptive to actionable feedback, we must praise them on what they do well so they know they have a chance to achieve in this complicated, difficult process. It also shows that we believe. With those two things in mind, kids will produce better quality of writing.

And, we get to create this positive culture in our writing classrooms.