The Washington Post reports that empty praise doesn’t do anything for students’ self-esteem! Who knew?
A growing body of research over three decades shows that easy, unearned praise does not help students but instead interferes with significant learning opportunities. As schools ratchet up academic standards for all students, new buzzwords are “persistence,” “risk-taking” and “resilience” — each implying more sweat and strain than fuzzy, warm feelings.
“We used to think we could hand children self-esteem on a platter,” Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck said. “That has backfired.”
This reminds of the Post piece after the dissolution of the USSR that found from Soviet archives that Gus Hall and the CPUSA really were tools of Moscow! Next up, “a growing body of research” will show that central planning doesn’t work, unwed motherhood is bad for children, and peace can only be preserved through military preparedness.