Self-Esteem in High Places

[lillibet]

Here's the LA Times article that caught my eye this morning that suggests we may have done too good a job encouraging self-esteem in our children, to the point that narcissism is possibly a problem among college-aged youth.

Thoughts?

Comments

Re: Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average

[urban_faerie_]

Ha! As a teacher I can see similarities between your school and some of the schools I work in.

What drives me crazy is when people think that being utterly permissive and never challenging kids is what's going to give them high self-esteem. How can you be proud of yourself if you have never met a challenge, set a difficult goal and reached it, or had to work for something you wanted?

If life is nothing but a series of placations from the time you enter kindergarten to the time you graduate then you don't feel any better about yourself than a kids who has been challenged because you don't know any other way. In fact these kids are even less able to deal with life because when they encounter challenges in the real world that mommy and daddy can't smooth over they are crushed because they haven't been forced to deal with those things like that in day to day life.

I think people underestimate how resiliant kids can be. It is part of human nature to want to be challenged, and how we cope with adversity teaches us what we are made of and what we can acomplish in life. Kids aren't going to respect a teacher or parent who gives them a free ride, so how can they respect themselves for getting one?