Teaching Performance in Our Schools - Take Your False Praise and Shove it!

By Lance Winslow Lance Winslow
Level: Diamond

Greetings to Everyone, I am a retired Franchisor, Business Consultant, Philanthropist and I run a Think Tank, as well as do a lot of Traveling, ...

One of the most severe challenges we have in our schools today is giving false praise, or telling our kids that everyone is a winner simply for breathing the air, showing up, and participating. We all know that isn't the case in the real world, and it is much crueler to pretend that someone has done a good job, when they really haven't because it lowers the bar to expectations. As these children grow up and become productive members of society, they will be expected to pull their weight, or they won't get paid, and they will become amongst those people who are laid-off.

Not only is that bad for themselves, their families, and their financial future but it is also unfortunate for everyone else in society - those who are paying taxes, and covering their unemployment benefits. We do not need to decrease the productivity in the United States, for if we hope to compete in the world and global marketplace we must increase our productivity, we must be the best in the world at everything we do. Therefore, false praise is nothing more than living a lie, but it's even worse than that because it damages the individual, as it makes them believe that their efforts and performance is good enough when it isn't.

It creates a false illusion in the minds of these children who will soon grow up and become adults. Worse, it's not only that we do this in our schools due to political correctness, but also parents are busy telling their kids they are great, when they are not. Rather than making them work for, it they say; "that's great Johnny you did a wonderful job," and parents and child psychologists somehow believe this is helping the individual's self-esteem as they grow and are nurtured into adulthood. This is a complete fallacy, and has been empirically proved to be the wrong way to play it, and yet year after year it's the same game.

If a parent tells the child they did good when they didn't, or that their effort is acceptable when it's not, then that child will learn when they get to school when they are amongst their peers that they aren't as good as they thought, and this can be a traumatic, devastating, and demoralizing event. Today in the modern workplace many management books explain that it's very important when dealing with Xers to constantly complement them. For instance if they are late to work every day, rather than reprimanding them, complement them on the day that they do show up on time.

The latest management textbooks for MBA students suggest this is the best way to get maximum effort out of those employees. However when budget cuts come, those employees will be fired because they do not perform up to the standards needed to remain efficient and turn a profit. Thus, they should be fired, but they should understand what is and isn't acceptable.

We must demand performance from our students, and we need to stop giving false praise where it is not deserved. Indeed I hope you will please consider this and think on it. If you have any comments, questions, and or concerns that you like to address to our think tank, please shoot me an e-mail.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

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Article Submitted On: March 16, 2011