What is a calm response when a teacher highlights their mistakes? 

Parenting Perspective 

For many children, being corrected by a teacher can feel intensely embarrassing or even humiliating, especially if it happens in front of their peers. Their first instinct might be to shut down, become defensive, or feel a deep sense of shame. As a parent, you can guide your child to respond to these situations calmly, teaching them to see correction as a chance to grow rather than as a personal attack. 

Normalise Mistakes as Part of Learning 

Remind your child that teachers highlight mistakes not to embarrass them, but to help them improve and succeed: 

• ‘Teachers point out mistakes because they care about your progress and want to see you do well.’ 

• ‘Even the best and smartest learners make errors. That is how they grow and become better.’ 

This helps to reframe the teacher’s correction as helpful guidance, not judgement. 

Teach Calm Responses for the Moment 

You can coach your child with some simple, respectful replies to use when they are corrected: 

• ‘Thank you, I understand now.’ 

• ‘I will try to fix that.’ 

• ‘Could you please explain it to me again so I can learn it properly?’ 

Practising these simple phrases at home can prepare them to respond politely in the moment, rather than reacting emotionally. 

Help Them Manage Feelings of Embarrassment 

Acknowledge their emotions without making them feel they are overreacting: 

• ‘It is normal to feel a bit embarrassed when you are corrected, but it does not mean you are not smart.’ 

• ‘Every mistake you learn from today is one less mistake you will make tomorrow.’ 

By recognising their feelings without judgement, you help them to feel safe while simultaneously encouraging their resilience. 

Reflect Afterwards in a Positive Way 

When they come home and tell you they were corrected in class, respond gently and use it as a learning opportunity: 

• Ask, ‘What part of that felt the most difficult for you?’ 

• Discuss what they learnt from the correction itself. 

• Highlight their courage: ‘You stayed in the class and listened to the feedback. That shows real maturity.’ 

Practical Strategies for Building Resilience 

• Role-play: Act out different scenarios at home where you gently correct them, and let them practise calm and positive responses. 

• Model humility: Let them see you accept correction gracefully in your daily life, perhaps by saying, ‘Thank you for pointing that out; I had not realised.’ 

• Reinforce progress: Make sure to praise not only their improvement in their schoolwork but also their improvement in how they handle correction. 

This approach helps them to view a teacher’s feedback as a valuable tool for improvement instead of a source of shame. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam teaches us that accepting correction with humility is a sign of wisdom and maturity. No human being is free from making mistakes, but a person of noble character is one who is able to learn from them and improve without becoming defensive or proud. 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Zumar (39), Verse 9: 

‘…Say (O Prophet Muhammad ﷺ): “Can there ever be parity between those people that have knowledge and those people that do not have knowledge?”; indeed, this is a source of realisation for those who seek a rational understanding.’ 

This verse reminds us that true knowledge is attained by those who seek it with a humble heart. Accepting a teacher’s correction is a practical part of the journey to becoming a person of deep understanding. 

It is recorded in Sunan Nisai, Hadith 4199, that the holy Prophet Muhammad said: 

‘The religion is sincere advice.’ We said: ‘To whom?’ He said: ‘To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, to the leaders of the Muslims, and to their common folk.’ 

This hadith shows that both giving and receiving sincere advice are integral parts of our faith. When a teacher highlights a mistake, they are offering a form of sincere advice intended to help. Accepting that advice calmly is therefore a practical way of exercising both humility and sincerity. 

By linking the experience of being corrected to these teachings, you help your child to see that mistakes are not failures but gifts that bring about growth. They learn that displaying calmness, respect, and humility in these moments is far more valuable than pretending to be perfect. 

In time, they will learn to embrace correction with maturity, turning each highlighted mistake into a positive step forward in both their learning and their character, with a deep trust that Allah Almighty is guiding their growth.