So, this is sort of week ten, sort of not. But this will be our last week for blogging, so enjoy it!
I recently attended a high school graduation...and then drove to Sacramento to watch another high school graduation. It was fairly torturous. The key feature in common among the speeches of the students and faculty members here and there was a simple notion: each and every individual is special and unique and a winner in every way.
Have we gone too far in pushing self esteem?
If so, at what cost?
How will this generation deal with its inevitable failures?
How does a civilization find a balance between valuing all human life and heaping on piles of unmerited praise?
What say you?
Wow, these are powerful questions! So I took a little more time to process them and this is what I came up with…
ReplyDeleteHave we gone too far in pushing self-esteem?
I don’t think we have. When we examine the phrase self-esteem, it implies just that. The word self is manifested within one’s inner identity and portrait of themselves and esteem is the worth we place on that image of ourselves. The fact that self-esteem can be high or low, indicates to me that it is the individual that ultimately decides their level of self-worth. I also believe that social factors and other external forces, do intend to have a great influence on are self-image as well. I think the key is knowing your true self and not buying into the many allusions out there.
How will this generation deal with its inevitable failures?
I hope that this generation pay close attention to the previous generations. For the sake of not making the same mistake continually and put forth the effort to minimize the use of failing systems. A person can only fail when they are attempting to succeed. Failure can also be a good teacher, but it is what you do after you fail that deciphers your future. I think, it would not be wise to continuously make the same mistakes, if nothing else make a new mistake.
How does a civilization find a balance between valuing all human life and heaping on piles of unmerited praise?
The only solution I can think of is to simply, give praise when praise is due and when it is not due, don’t.
I didn't think about the way you described self esteem that way, but it makes sense.
DeleteLearning by our mistakes is an excellent way for our attempt to succeed.
DeleteI liked your response to the praise, give it when its due and when its not. I even added it to my blog :). I think its an important factor when dealing with praise especially with children and adolescents. If you can build their self esteem high enough for them to stand on their own feet is a great attribute for future failures.
DeleteI don' think that as a society we encourage our youth as much as we should. Which causes low self esteem, I don't think parents or teachers leave positive impressions for our kids. I think that we don't focus on how important it is to tell our kids what a good job their doing/or aren't doing good job or that they can do whatever they set their minds too. I feel that our youths are being set up for failure on so many levels. I think we truly are not preparing them for obstacles that they will have to face as they become adults. I don't think they are being taught valuable lessons from both parents and educators. I think that we have lowered our standards excellence and for that reason, we praise mediocrity instead praising excellence and that is setting up people for failure.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Crystal, I think our standards have lowered as a society.
DeleteI agree, society has lowered their standards. I especially have noticed this in middle schools and high schools.
DeleteWhen I become a teacher, I am going to prepare my students for the real word and encourage them whenever I can.
DeleteI definitely agree with your point. We praise mediocrity, that it will further encourage people not to excel.
DeleteWe have lowered our standards as a society. It has changed so much and the things that are considered important are not attainable in the real world. If we set good values in children from the beginning, it will help them in more ways than one.
Deletegood responses, Crystal and Danelle!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have pushed self-esteem as much as we should. Graduation speeches are empty words of encouragement that tries to overpower the lack of encouragement children should have been getting all along from teachers, educators, and parents. I think we get caught up in the reality of things and we forget to look at the bigger picture. Now that these young adults are entering the real world, they will not be prepared for failures. They won't have the necessary skills for over coming the hardships and bouncing back from it. If they were confident and thought highly of themselves and had that security, they could then take each failure as a time of growth and learning. Civilization can balance it out by giving praise when its needed. Like Danelle stated above, give it when its need and when its not.
ReplyDeleteI agree, someone with a higher self-esteem will be more likely to overcome an obstacle.
DeleteParents and teachers should express that it is okay to fail because failure is a step closer to succeeding.
DeleteI agree, students should be receiving words of encouragement throughout their school careers to boost their self confidence.
DeleteMost graduation are made up of empty words and pointless speeches. At my graduation, I only remembered one line from my teacher's speech, he said, " Your future will be full of failure but it's up to you to learn from it." I remember seeing many students disgusted but that's because their lives have been sugar coated and reality hasn't sunken in for them. I was glad he said that and that he was blatantly honest to us because that's what our generation really needs.
DeleteI think in some ways we have focused too much on preserving one's self esteem. Constantly giving praise and calling everyone a winner will only cause difficulties when a situation of failure arises. While of course it is important to acknowledge positive qualities and achievements, by completely ignoring failures, one will never improve. The way I see it, there are two common ways of handling a failure. Either people will learn from it and become better, or they will dwell on it and let it consume them. What needs to be encouraged is strength and resilience to overcome a failure. Sometimes the best way to learn something is through a failure.
ReplyDeletei agree with your point. Failure can be a good teacher! It is up to us whether we want to learn from it.
DeleteI am somewhat divided in regards to the topic of whether society is pushing self-esteem too much or not enough. I believe it depends on the individual. There are some individuals that have a high self-esteem on their own and there are others who do not have a high self-esteem. From my experience, it is usually the people who have a high self-esteem that generally get compliments that elevate their self-esteem even more and the other people with the low self-esteem are left feeling that way. Society should push self-esteem on the individuals who have a low self-esteem by complimenting them on any good qualities they have. I know this may seem unfair to some, but I feel that by improving the self-esteem of individuals who do not feel so good about themselves, they will be more confident. And if they are confident, they will be more likely to strive for success and know their potential. I feel that this generation will not be able to deal well with failure. I know I am stereotyping, but children from this generation tend to spend a lot of time on social media when they could be doing something productive (like school work or joining a sport). As a result, they do not work or put as much effort into goals they have like previous generations. This generation will have to learn from their mistakes and put more effort in whatever they chose to do in order to prevent the mistake from occurring again. Finding balance on when to stop praising someone is difficult. It would be ideal for the person to have a high self-esteem, but not feel superior to others. However, this tends to happen when someone is praised too much.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you analyzed this topic, you said that it depends on the individual, and I can see that. Not all people are the same and we all handle situations differently.
DeleteI think society should individualize, not generalize. Not everyone needs the extra boost to their self-esteem.
DeleteGraciela, you analyzed this perfectly. It is very dependent on the person and I do agree that society tends to praise people who already have high self-esteem and forget about those that don't. It really did open my eyes to a different view on this topic.
DeleteWow, so many questions to think about and answer. I feel like all graduating speeches say the same thing that we are all special and unique for making it to the “end”. I do believe that society has lowered standards in order to make everyone feel good about them. We can no longer say what we really mean because we are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. We tell people that they are doing a good job, when in reality they are doing a bad job. For example, I see teachers praising and rewarding children, even when they did not deserve to be rewarded because they felt bad. I have currently seen this example at work in the preschool that I work at. I saw a teacher let a student, who was throwing a tantrum, be the line leader because she was having a tough day. She was being rewarded for bas punishment. In the past, we used to get rewarded for doing well or winning. Now, people are getting rewarded just for “trying”. We no longer reward winners; we reward the ones who did the bear minimum because they tried. Our generation will not be able to endure failure because they will never know what failure really is. Present generations will be used to being praised for whatever they do no matter if they did good or bad. When these generations grow up in the real world, they will not be able to endure criticism because they’re self-esteem will immediately go down. Our society needs to find a balance between giving praising and rewarding those who deserve it.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree! Why do teachers encourage bad behavior! That is a huge no-no. This type of "encouragement" makes kids think that it is okay to express bad behavior.
DeleteExactly! We need to separate ourselves from the emotional side of things and letting those control situations. If we let our emotions get the best of us, more children who are bad tempered will feel that its ok to be bad and still achieve a high status. That's not going to last in the real world when they are older. Society needs a drastic change in reform and praise worthy acts.
Delete@Maritsa: I actually had a helper in my classroom reward someone for bad behavior, and I asked my boss to not let her come back to my classroom. I do not reward bad behavior.
Delete@Marina:I think our society has become more emotional.
@Maritsa: I actually had a helper in my classroom reward someone for bad behavior, and I asked my boss to not let her come back to my classroom. I do not reward bad behavior.
Delete@Marina:I think our society has become more emotional.
Truthfully, I feel as if we do not encourage high self-esteem enough. Despite these teachers and students pushing this self-esteem stuff on the students do you really think most of these kids listen? Having someone tell you to have a high self-esteem is completely different than actually having one. Not everyone has a good self-esteem, especially not in highschool. There is always a way for someone to be put down. Whether it be society and the media, or from someone you trust. I actually believe that we should push to raise everyones self-esteem, not just children. Encourage it though books, magazines, tv shows, schools lessons, anything. If a person truely thinks highly of themself they will be able to go far in life, but someone who has a little doubt or a lot of doubt may find it more of a struggle. I'm not saying they won't go far in life, in fact I believe that they can, it just might take more time. Those speeches that are given at graduation I feel do not really empower the students to feel as if they can take on the world, instead I feel as if it is often said to just make the ceremony sound better. I think instead of having one teacher of faculity member give a speech saying " Hey, you are all winners and can do whatever you want" it would be more impactful if it was said on a one-on-one basis. I mean really when they giv ethis speech its too everyone, not just you as an individual. You won't feel unique or special when this message is being spread to everyone at once. I mean yes, these students graduating are winners because they finished their schooling which is amazing, but do they may feel like winners for a short period of time before the excitement calms down. These messages of improving one's self-worth sound be more personal so that the message is actually receieved. Whether it be writing it in the year book, or telling it to the student as you sit down for an end of the year conference with the student. I really believe we can do more to help people raise their self-esteem becaus ein all honstey, too many people have a low self-esteem. I know adults my age and even older who have no self-worth and its heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that there are times when astudent may have a little too much self-esteem. Those are the cases where the student has a huge ego and may feel that they can take on the world, when in reality they are not prepared for the real world. These students may be the school stars, always being praised and getting special treatment. this can cause them to struggle in the real world and maybe even fail. These people may feel superior to others with their high self-esteem and may even become a bully to those they deem 'weak'. This is where I can understand the idea that maybe we are pushing the self-esteem thing a little too much. There is a way to promote the message to feel good about yourself but to not make others feel bad in order to make you feel good. I'm sorry if this seems like a rant but I really just feel like there are too many people in the world who do not see the good in themselves and only see the bad.
Also, please ignore all the typos, I got really passionate and for some reason did not even re-read this. Sorry!
DeleteThey are ignored! Sometimes our thinking brains work faster than our typing fingers.
DeleteYou make a good point here!
To be honest, I hate going to graduations. We have to sit there for two hours, maybe more, hearing speeches of how we are all unique and a winner in our own way and how exciting it is looking forward to the future. When in reality, adult life is not what we imagined in high school. Teachers never took the time to explain what it is to take out a loan for college or what is the difference between an unsubsidized loan and subsidized loan. I remember we only spent 40 minutes talking about loans and after that, I never heard the word "loan" ever again, until college. Can you imagine graduating from high school thinking everything is going to be fun and exciting in college, then in a blink in an eye, we are already in debt. Our teachers never prepared us for life after high school. One thing that irritates me is when a high school teacher says, "You will use Cornell notes style in college". FALSE! I have never used Cornell notes style in my college classes since I started college. Teachers need to express over and over that adult life is not easy. Educators and parents need to stop "sugarcoating" by saying we are unique in our own way because when we enter college, being "unique" is not going to give us an A in our classes. Being "unique" is not going to pay off our loans. Instead, teachers and parents should express that being active and participating in discussions will give you the social skills to build a better self-esteem. When you are at a group interview, do you think your employer is going to give a job to the person who is active in the conversation or the person who sits in silence?? Not only teachers, but parents need to be active in their child's life. Parents need to encourage dynamic conversations with their child/children to promote excellent social skills in the real world. Having great social skills is what gives you the self-esteem and encouragement that you need to feel as if you can take on the world. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
ReplyDeleteI NEVER used Cornell notes either! I wish I could insert an emoji here and say "PREACH IT GIRLFRIEND!" haha
Delete"Our teachers never prepared us for life after high school." I wonder if that should be their job--I know they all claim to be preparing you for college, but I think they should be helping you through high school rather than thinking of the next step. Then in college we say, we will prepare you for the workplace--do we actually do that? Not so much. But let me be clear--you will definitely need to use Cornell Notes in the workplace!
DeleteI agree with everything you are saying. My teachers in high school said that college will have you surviving off of Top Ramen noodles, and that no one would be living at home.
DeleteI agree! Never did a teacher express what steps I was going to have to take when applying for a job or how to even answer the questions during an interview! and I NEVER USED CORNELL NOTES either! Everything I learned socially was by trial and error after high school. I pictured that my lunch and classes would be automatically paid for, haha.
DeleteI agree as well! I think that parents should be more involved in a child's life. This would definitely help with their social skills and feeling more accomplished in everything that they do. I also wish that high school gave you more information on what life would be like after high school. Things are very sugar coated on that subject. No one tells you that you will be in debt or what loans are or any important information like that.
DeleteReading through some of the questions, I find myself on the fence on most of these questions. On one hand, I know at my graduation I know I appreciated the fact that my accomplishments were recognized and praised. I felt like all those sleepless nights and last minute cram sessions paid off. Although it may seem trivial that it is just a high school graduation, but for some people, this is the only time that they will have this kind of experience. I think in times such as that, that it is important that graduates are reminded that this is just the beginning. Therefore, I personally believe that uplifting self esteem is positive. There are some cases were it can be excessive but for the most part, believing in ones' self is half of any battle.
ReplyDeleteThere are many times in which we succeed but there are just as many times in which we fail. For those people who have had an elevated self esteem, they may handle inevitable failures differently than others. They may not be able to comprehend the exact reasons as to why they failed. This can be difficult for the person and ultimately may end up lowering their self esteem to a new all time low.
It is sometimes hard to find a balance between valuing human life and giving unmerited praise but I personally feel as though either way they both boost self-esteem, which ultimately makes the individual more confident. Like I previously said, sometimes believing you can achieve something is half the battle.
Marina, I agree with your point. Believing in yourself can sometimes be the biggest obstacle to overcome. A lot of us have trouble trusting ourselves.
DeleteI completely agree with you! I do believe that being praised and acknowledged for your accomplishment makes you feel proud of yourself and also boosts your self-esteem!
DeleteI absolutely agree! It is a good thing to have all your hard work praised for, especially for some who might only graduate from high school. And for those going onto college level they might need the extra boost and to remember what they worked so hard for the last four years. There are some kids who were not given the support that they should have been at home and at graduation would be a time to be praised for your hard work even if your family or those close to you don't care.
Deleteabsolute torture? Count downing? Yes, you are so right!
ReplyDeleteAlianna Castellon,
ReplyDeletecompelling responses and have good solutions. Job well done!
ReplyDeleteMarina Arias,
You made a valid point. A High School graduation will be the only and last experience of its kind for many of them. I think if we just see the ceremony for what it is and be in the moment, it can be enjoyable.
I recently attended a high school graduation out of town and it was extremely time consuming. When I read over the pamphlet on how the ceremony was going to be conducted, I realized how things changed in a span of five years. There were six speeches that were given by the students, and it seemed to be a contest on which student achieved the most or had a “harder” life. One of the students said in their speech that everyone who is graduating deserves a huge amount of respect because, “graduating high school now a days is one of the most difficult things to do in life. We are not students anymore, we are mature adults.” When she said that, I was completely shocked. According to the pamphlet, she was valedictorian. I would have imagined there would be more logical thinking from a person graduating with that honor. I agree that we should push students to achieve their full potential, but there comes a point where it is too much. Instead of being humble, these students made themselves seem like they were above everyone else. How does a civilization find a balance between valuing all human life and heaping on piles of unmerited praise? I personally believe there is no possible balance because some people feel they deserve praise for the smallest things in life. The only solution is to give praise where it is truly deserved.
ReplyDeleteGraduations are extremely tedious. I feel exactly the same way with speeches, when you have six speeches given by students it's essentially a contest. When that many speeches are given, I simply remember the best speech and the worst speech. After a couple of months, I won't even remember who gave their speeches. Merits and recognition should be given to those who truly deserve it.
DeletePersonally, I hate going to graduations. They're full of speeches that are way too long and yes, they're positive and inspirational, but I feel as if all that praise should have been given through out all the school years. The only thing students want tot hear at that point is "Congratulations Class of...". I feel as if as a society we do not push positive self-esteem as much as we should. From what I have seen, people spend more time on focusing what is wrong than praising for what is good. Parents forget that good work is hard work, but are quick to punish bad work. However, I do believe that self-esteem is based upon one's self. I think that social media plays a big part in today's generation and people's self-esteem is based on how many "likes" one can get, which is pretty horrible if you really think about it. Giving praise where it is needed is the only thing that I can say that would help balance life.
ReplyDeleteKrystal, I agree with you. I think that self-esteem is influenced by social media. It is sad that people think higher of themselves of think they are better than others because of the number of likes a picture gets.
DeleteI am a bit divided on the question about whether self-esteem is pushed too far or not pushed enough. Personally, I think that at this age, it is important for teachers to help boost self-esteem. Students sometimes view their teachers as role models and look up to them. Little words of encouragement can go a long way. However, the last few graduations I have attended all have the same type of speeches with different words about how all the students are special and unique. They sugar coat life after high school and make them believe that they are all off to have the times of their lives and making them feel as if they are ready to conquer the world. Staff, having been through their steps, should know more than anyone what is to be expected after graduation. Even though they are young, staff should somehow prepare students so that they know how to send their future professors a proper email. Teachers should be in charge of putting workshops together so that students are ready to go into the real world instead of being thrown into it. I do believe that students are being set up for failure. I know that today’s younger generation is not the best because I feel as if most of them have more interest in having a boyfriend or girlfriend or being the most popular. They care more about friendships than worrying about their future or even grades. Separating students into categories like AP and college prep courses can actually affect them. My brother this past year was in a CP biology course and did not do well. His teacher was not helpful and just had them doing book work. Most of his classmates failed. I feel that because these students are not in AP courses, the teachers think that they do not care about their studies. The barrier created by the separation of these courses makes CP students feel as if they are stupid because they are not in AP courses, which is completely not the case. Although there are some students who do not care about their studies, there is a small percentage that still is. Personally, I do not think that there is an easy way to balance this problem. I believe the issue is the way society is programed today. I feel like updating posts on Facebook and posting the best pictures on Instagram is becoming a number one priority in these students lives. In the end, worrying about how many likes a picture gets on Instagram is not going to help them graduate from college.
ReplyDeleteI cannot agree with you more. I went to a very religious private school during high school that didn't have a lot of things, like a guidance counselor or a school nurse. It wasn't that they were financially struggling, they simply didn't see it as a priority which is even worse. Since my brother and I were the first children to head to college, we were clueless about a lot things. I struggled during my first year since it was the first time I've ever really had to study. During high school, we were always given study sheets and study guides. We never had to try for anything and it was pretty apparent that the staff didn't care and just wanted us to get by and barely graduate.
DeleteIt is unfortunate. Throughout high school, I had just one professor that would push the students to actually learn and study for written exams. I will forever be thankful because he made the high school to college transition a bit easier!
DeleteActually, I don’t we’re going far enough when it comes to pushing self-esteem. In fact, I think that most people are going about it the wrong way. Most people think that to improve another person’s self-esteem is to bombard them with compliments, but for somebody who’s been dealing with insecurities for years isn’t going to be miraculously healed with one compliment. More importantly, self-esteem is exactly that - it’s how a person sees and understands his or her own value. One of the few ways to do that is through introspection or self-analysis: figure out your own strengths and weaknesses and learn to overcome them. In doing so, it’s natural to fail in some aspects but you will also succeed in others, sometimes through making mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It doesn’t matter if they’re stupid; if you learn from them it isn’t wasted.
ReplyDeleteI think as a society we are guilty of feeding into our future generations self-esteem. Although self -esteem is typically a boost of confidence that one individual gives to them self, it is possible to feed into someone's self-esteem and praise them when praise should not be given. Graduating High School is a great achievement, I personally think we have praised it more than we should have, and should focus on getting students to want to further their education and make that seem like it is the greatest thing to do. Feeding into their self-esteem made them believe that they are indestructible and that mentality will not help them when they are faced with failure. When a situation presents itself where they find themselves in a tough situation I think this generation won't really know how to handle the pressure and stress that comes with failing. I'm not saying that this is the case for all recently graduated students, but it is for most of them. We possibly should not give praise where praise should not be given. I remember when one of my teachers mentioned that she would only give us praise when we followed through with things we said we would,but that she wouldn't be surprised if we failed her. A little harsh I know, but she never gave us false praise and whenever she applauded us we knew it was genuine, and that we worked for that.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an incredible teacher! Unfortunately, it's rare to come by a teacher who will genuinely and effectively push you to be a better student and a better person. You're very lucky.
DeleteHave we gone too far in pushing self esteem?
ReplyDeleteI believe that self esteem is not pushed enough in today's society. As a future teacher, I want to be able to help children in boosting their self esteem. We are living in a society that one word or action can lead to children's depression and suicide. This is why I believe it is important to teach children to have high self esteem so that the rates of depression and suicide in children can start to decrease. As a future teacher, I find that encouraging self esteem by praising children when they do a good job and giving them feedback when they are not doing a good job is helping them prepare for the future and the opinions of others. After all, we would all benefit if we raised children who have higher self esteem because there wouldn't be room for them to doubt in pursuing higher education.
How will this generation deal with its inevitable failures?
I want to believe that this generation will learn from the failures of past generations, however I know this is not necessarily true. I believe that we all have to encounter failure to learn from our mistakes and make us a better, stronger person.
How does a civilization find a balance between valuing all human life and heaping on piles of unmerited praise?
I believe that the balance comes in when we realize when we are honestly praising a person or if we are doing it just because that is what we know they want to hear. I believe that honesty is key. If someone is doing a great job and you acknowledge it praising is good. However, if they are not and you are just saying it to not make the person feel bad that is when it is a problem. People should give those who are struggling honest feedback so they know what to work on. That is when we will reach a balance.
These are some difficult questions to answer. When it comes to pushing one’s self-esteem, I feel that as a society we make a big issue on self-esteem. We say that everyone is important, everyone is special, and everyone is a valuable asset to the community. We have to realize that some people will not in their own eyes be successful and will inevitably fail in the future. These failures however, are what make us successful and I feel as though this generation doesn’t realize that. I feel as though they think their journey is supposed to be a clearly paved road when in reality it’s an unpaved road with winding turns and dead ends. As they go through these roads, they should realize there are other options that can be taken rather than failing over and over again at what they think is their life’s purpose.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though this generation will not successfully deal with failure. They will see failures as failures and nothing more when rather these failures should be a next step closer to success. At times we will have many failures and no successes which is when we should go into other direction and keep moving forward. I think this lesson or wisdom isn’t instilled into our minds which is a great loss.
I agree, I think today's youth will have a very rough time dealing with failure. they are so used to being protected that when they do face trouble, they demand to get things their way.
DeleteHave we gone too far in pushing self esteem?
ReplyDeleteHonestly I dont think we even scratched the surface to pushing self-esteem. We remind people that they are incredible in every single way, however by just saying they are incredible and special doesn't mean that they believe they are. I have actually talked to some teenagers and asked them what it was that they wanted to be, and by their facial expressions and replies you can hear confusion in their voices and expressions. Some weren't sure because of their families werent very successful so they feel they would be the same. However if we speak to them about how failures are just levels of success they could probably understand.
Failures to me are levels to success, I think of it as an obstacle. However the more we fight for what we want, the closer we get to where we want to be. And people need to realize that.
I don't think that self-esteem is stressed enough! I think that our youth today are more insecure than ever before. There are so many parents and adults that are not helping with the self-esteem problem of our youth. Kids today are insecure about so many things. Social media plays a huge part in self esteem for our youth. Pictures of very thin girls and ripped guys are all over every magazine, webpage, etc. Kids can't help but feel insecure about their bodies, especially when they are going through hard times, which is pretty much how all teenagers are. There are a lot of people that i think are unsure of what our youth needs. Some need the compliments on a regular basis, some don't need it quite as often. And praise should be given when it is due, not at all times.
ReplyDeleteI believe we have pushed self-esteem to the limit. I understand that it’s important, but sometimes society tries too hard to protect the youth. In my opinion, it is necessary to allow children to fail, to fall, to rise, and to learn from their mistakes. Only then will they earn their self esteem instead of demanding it. I work for a school district and I see teachers give students awards for the tiniest accomplishments. Teachers don’t want students to feel left out, but at the same time, how is giving awards for nothing motivating students to try harder? I also see parents come to our school and demand their children get praised for something they did not do. For example, some students leave half day all the time but at the end of the year the parent wants us to give that child the “perfect attendance” award and incentive. When we don’t, they complain. They do not care that their child was in fact not in school all day every day, they just want the prize. This creates a feeling of entitlement towards the child and possibly leads the child to believe that they are entitled to whatever they want, even if it is not done right. Civilazation needs to find a balance by encouraging everyone to be true to themselves, but also work hard to achieve greatness. The saying “nothing in life is free” has sadly lost its meaning with today’s youth. I think it’s the responsibility of the parents to encourage their children at home, but still let them fail and learn on their own.
ReplyDelete