More evidence to confirm common sense

For years, I've scratched my head at the headlong rush to provide unearned praise on our schoolchildren.  It spilled over into sports and interpersonal relationships.  Everyone has heard the stories of soccer games where no one keeps score and everyone gets a trophy.

Turns out that the common sense response of "You have got to be kidding me" is turning out to have scientific support.  From the Washington Post:

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.”

They say that free advice is worth what you pay for it.  Seems that unearned praise has the same value.

Read the whole story HERE.