The Secret to Raising Smart Kids

[memegarden]

Praise their persistence, not their intelligence. Whole article well worth reading.

Comments

[hydrolagus]

I'm being reactive and I know it. I agree with that article and resemble that remark, having dropped out of college for partly that reason. But it still makes me flash back to an NPR audio-essay from a guy saying that doing anything to promote self-esteem is bad since the trend of promoting self-esteem in isolation of the kids' actions was lousy. I need to get my emotions around the fact that just because those folks would drag this article (and the bits in Don't Shoot the Dog on not praising the dog for doing the things that it was supposed to do) their direction doesn't mean that it actually has anything to do with that position. I somehow got imprinted with the bad parts version of both perspectives as applies to my own loveability--I can't accept affection that I don't feel that I earned, and my efforts will never be enough. I should fix that. So, well, thank you for the "learning-experience" moment, however uncomfortable it makes me. And sorry about dumping this in your journal. I shan't be offended at all if you delete

[memegarden]

I have no intention of deleting your comment--on the contrary, it's a valuable bit of personal reflection on the article content