From the author: Published in: Service of Practical Psychology in the Education System. Issue 9. Scientific reports for the city scientific and practical conference Scientific editors: Doctor of Psychology, Professor A.K. Kolechenko, senior lecturer N.V. Punchenko. – St. Petersburg: SPbAPPO, 2005. – 288 p. Pages 249-253. Student’s diary as a means of education Sokovnina M.S. Imagine that an error or oversight has occurred in your work. After all, this can happen to anyone. Now imagine that the school director makes an entry in your work book for this mistake. “I was 5 minutes late for work...” “I wasn’t prepared for the lesson...” “Two kids from the class got into a fight during recess... shameful! Can’t you re-educate them!” “In the class, student X was retained for the second year. What kind of class teacher (psychologist, parent) are you!” Or: “For the consultation – Two!” Perhaps after one or two such entries you would leave your workplace. One can only be amazed at the resilience of the students who do not leave their “combat positions.” Because an adult needs a significantly smaller portion in order to “break out.” True, the child has “nowhere to go.” Where will you go? To be registered with the police for not attending classes? Numerous studies and observations in the field of psychology prove that the most effective means for success is positive motivation with a focus on possible success and achievement (as opposed to negative, negative motivation to avoid failure). Students in this case are no exception. Meanwhile, the practice of school life reveals that the basic laws of motivation of human behavior are often ignored. A significant number of teachers use “cultural pedagogical myths” rather than scientific knowledge in their teaching activities. One of these typical pedagogical myths is: “If he thinks well of himself, he will become arrogant.” Another myth: “If he thinks that everything is fine, he will stop developing and will have no incentive to move forward.” “The Lord God knows for five, I know for four, and the student at best knows for three.” And so on. One of the psychological directions in which the concept of motivation of human behavior was developed is transactional analysis. Eric Berne, the founder of transactional analysis, developed ideas about human motivation through the concept of human needs. One of these needs, named by him, is the need for recognition, which is satisfied through “conditional” and “unconditional” strokes, which are forms of expressing recognition of another person. Strokes can also be positive or negative, and recognition can be positive or negative. The concept of stroking was further developed by Claude Steiner. He outlined his ideas in the article “Economy of Strokes.” In the same article, he talks about the myths that a fair portion of humanity uses and about the “stroking economy,” which is a means of manipulating a child’s behavior (through creating a deficit). “Free space” for the propagation of these myths is created by the absence of clear legislation and administrative rules about what can be written in a student’s teacher’s diary and what cannot be written. It is also supported by the lack of clear pedagogical positions in the educational literature. Have you come across in any school literature, for teachers, for psychologists, reflections on the diary, recommendations on what to do with it? It is as if the diary as a fact of school life does not exist. A diary is important in developing positive motivation for students. What does a diary mean for a student? This is his social passport. This is the plan of his life, this is a list of his achievements and failures. But often it becomes precisely a list of failures. It becomes a list of failures instead of a list of strengths that the student could usefurther. Nevertheless, the diary is very significant for the student. It is for this reason that it is hidden when the teacher intends to write a remark there. Two basic principles: 1.Increase the number of positively motivating entries in the diary 2.Transform and reduce the number of negatively motivating entries in the diary. Diary entries addressed to positive motivation are entries containing a) unconditional recognition of the student’s personality b) entries containing conditional recognition of the student. This is recognition given to a student for a job well done. The most difficult thing may be to express unconditional recognition and acceptance of the student, since the school is focused primarily on successful activities. However, it is possible. Unconditional recognition is expressed primarily through a respectful form of address. Unconditional recognition can be expressed through an address by name (to the student), by name and patronymic (to parents), through written congratulations on national holidays - an entry in the diary from the class teacher, from the school principal. (Remember: Suvorov A. knew each of his soldiers by name). These can also be parting words and wishes from the class teacher to have a good holiday - at the end of the quarter, trimester, half-term. The so-called “conditional” recognition should be expressed for success in academic and extracurricular activities, and for personal achievements. This can also be not only a mark, but also praise, for example, for attentive work in class, for an excellent answer at the board. Comments on grades are important, clarifying the nature of the work done by the student, containing recognition of success, and clarification of the opportunity to correct a bad grade. It can also be gratitude, for example: for helping the teacher in class, for participating in extracurricular activities, for being on duty at school, in class, gratitude for a message in class, for help provided to a classmate. We can say that writing in a diary is a special form of pedagogical work with students, since, as people say, “What is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an ax.” A diary is not a notebook from which you can tear out and throw away the wrong page. Is this the reason why students lose their diaries so often? At the same time, they also lose a part of their life that they want to quickly forget about. And those who did not lose them during the school year, with great relief of heart at the end of the year, throw the diary into the trash bin in order to quickly forget about the huge red twos, appeals to the parents and the student’s conscience, about their grievances against teachers, about the feeling of helplessness in front of circumstances and adults whom they are unable to influence…. To forget at least for the summer.. Will the time come when diaries will begin to be carefully preserved as a memory of personal successes, noble deeds, class and school events, the nobility and help of teachers, the knowledge gained in favorite subjects, and new ones completed? is a student a stepping stone to an interesting, adult life? It would be nice if it came. So let's give our students gratitude, appreciation, love, admiration, respect, social recognition of success, the importance of what has been done, the results achieved, self-confidence and in the future, self-confidence. Let school life become such that there is no need to be afraid of the wrong answer, ridicule of classmates, irony of the teacher, public criticism, silent (or not silent) anger of parents. To conclude the article, I propose 10 specific methods that allow you to establish positive contact, influence a student’s behavior, and invite parents to cooperate in raising a child. The description of these 10 methods can be used as instructions when working with a student's diary. Psychologists can use this list of methods when working with class teachers, elementary school teachers, and simply teachers of certain disciplines. 10 methods to establish contact and strengthen=421