US teacher's unorthodox method

Chris Ulmer high fives one of his students after a pep talk (Facebook)
Chris Ulmer high fives one of his students after a pep talk (Facebook)

We often only see teachers in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, but this clip is going viral; a Florida teacher who takes ten minutes every day to tell his students just how special they are.

Chris Ulmer is a special education teacher at Keystone Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. Instead of simply listing the day's agenda before beginning his lesson, he gives each one of his students special words of encouragement, and finishes with a high-five.

He says in the video, which first appeared in Facebook, that the compliments are a new practice in his classroom, and that "they have created an exponentially more positive environment".

He says "every child deserves to feel accepted in this world. Instead of focusing on deficits I focus on talents. Instead of talking about peace, love and harmony, I display peace, love and harmony… if a teacher displays love, harmony and peace ... THAT will become their norm."

Apparently, after just a few weeks of this practice, many of the students started complimenting each other.

Watch the video.