Fri 2 Mar 2007
Sora recently posted about her Bible reading goals. It reminded me of how difficult goals are. Our lives would be fruitless and unproductive without goals but when we become driven by our goals we crash and burn. I am a goal setter. I also easily become enslaved to my goals. Having a large family has been one antidote. Thinking about this I decided to reread a little book that has always been one of my favorites: Between Walden and the Whirlwind, a Navpress book by Jean Fleming. I have set the goal to reread the book; I haven’t actually started yet.
Here is an article I found yesterday that really hit home. I think this is an area in which homeschoolers are vulnerable. We are in grave danger of making our children feel too special. We are in so much danger that we hardly can grasp that someone could be too special. This article comes on the heels of another study that showed too much praise is causing children to underachieve. I can’t find that link but if anyone has it please post it in the comments.
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Sometimes in life we can have too much of a good thing.
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Cindy,
Is this the article you are thinking of? Po Bronson is a good writer. He wrote a book about Silicon Valley I liked a lot, really a collection of magazine articles, called The Nudist on the Late Shift.
Comment by Rick Saenz (March 2, 2007 @ 8:53 am )
This is a better article than the one I had read. The one I read was just the study that Mr Bronson seems to be elaborating on. Thanks for the link!!
Comment by Cindy (March 2, 2007 @ 9:24 am )
I enjoyed the story will e-mail you. Tell that 4th son of yours Happy Birthday.
Comment by quaintoldgal (March 2, 2007 @ 9:31 am )
I blogged about that study, but hadn’t seen the Po Bronson link.
At least, I think it’s the same study. As I recall, it wasn’t that praise was bad, it was that we tend to praise the wrong thing. We praise our kids for being so smart, when we should be praising them for working hard instead.
Comment by DeputyHeadmistress (March 2, 2007 @ 1:05 pm )
I HAD seen the same link. That’s the one I blogged about. I didn’t remember the name and I am an idiot. Other than that, I have no excuses.
Comment by DeputyHeadmistress (March 2, 2007 @ 1:19 pm )
This is sorta off the path, but then it’s not. In our evangelism we are facing the results of so much positive self-esteem. It is very hard to convince someone that they are a sinner and that God has a standard that they must face after all of the self-esteem training most children today receive. Most college age kids have been told their whole life (especially in ps) that they are fine just the way they are, and that they need to “love themselves”. Well, the result of that teaching shows up in our encounters. It is very hard in a single conversation to undo 20 years of teaching. The sad thing is,(no stoning allowed here) most churches have modeled the public schools and the phsycho babble of the day and do the same thing in their programs. We should all follow the model of Christ in Mark 10:18, when he said, “Why do you call me good? There is none good, but one, that is God.”
I think we should also encourage our children, but not in themselves, but with the focus on what God abilities that God has given them. I hope this doesn’t sound as if I am uncaring toward my children, but I want them to understand that any good thing they have, is from God, and that apart from Him they are but filthy sinners.
Comment by Lora K. (March 2, 2007 @ 1:37 pm )
Here’s one about Carol Dweck’s work that I’ve had on file for years. The NY Mag article is an expansion on the same idea.
This doesn’t even get into the Christian worldview, but I do think there’s a lot of truth to it.
http://www.education-world.com/a_issues/chat/chat010.shtml
Comment by Laura A (March 2, 2007 @ 1:55 pm )
Well, I had read your musings and I couldn’t even remember that. You aren’t going to be able to be the suspect now! It would be hard to cross examine you.
Comment by Cindy (March 2, 2007 @ 2:02 pm )
I could plead diminished capacity.
Comment by DeputyHeadmistress (March 2, 2007 @ 2:29 pm )
Between Walden and the Whirlwind is a delightful little book. I can remember reading it over and over!
Comment by Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooksandMe (March 3, 2007 @ 10:59 pm )