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The Rah-Rah Mentality
Posted by Raven on October 30th, 2007
About praising the kids:
The downside of too much praise is that kids may start to focus on the reward rather than what they are learning. Worse, failure can be devastating and confusing for a student whose confidence is based on an inflated ego, rather than his or her actual abilities, the magazine notes. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t praise our kids or that teachers shouldn’t try to engender self-confidence. But self-esteem should be the result of good grades and achievement, not false accomplishments.
I think we’re seeing a generation of young adults who are victims of this rah-rah mentality.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
You cannot imagine. I have participated in debates about rewarding kids for doing what they’re supposed to do — like show up. Kids today seek that kind of motivation all the time. Have you ever seen the end of season for kids sports? They all get TROPHIES — even if they didn’t win a single game. It’s very strange.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
And kids know when they are being falsely praised…they’re not as dumb as some people like to think. When we over praise them, they do grow with a certain sense of entitlement for things the real world isn’t going to give them. We want to love our kids, educate them, provide the best things we can afford for them…but not hand them everything on that golden platter. Life isn’t a platter. Lets stop preparing them for the non realities here.
As for the sport teams, yes I have seen this. How stupid. Perhaps a certificate of attendance is warranted to a team who never won a game but not freakin trophies!!
October 30th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
My ex convienced my son that he was so much smarter than everyone else and he paid. He is 19, dropped out of school and having to work his butt off to get his GED. His father’s false praise created unrealistic expectations and made him basically lazy in the classroom. I think letting a child know they did a good job when they “do a good job” is only right, but telling them they are more than they are does not make them firmly entrenched in reality.
Nice blog Raven… :-)
November 1st, 2007 at 4:24 am
Raven… being humble and the Golden Rule work for me and my family. Exodus 20 too!