Feedback Strategies
The two articles I read this week were "Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!"" by Alfie Kohn and "Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset" by Gravity Goldberg. I think these two articles work nicely with each other, as they share similar points about why it's important to take the focus off of ourselves when we give praise. They both mention that the reason is because it's unhealthy for children to be raised seeking external validation and approval, and I think that's a really good point. I personally seek far too much external validation. While I'm pretty confident in myself as a person, I notice it a lot in my schoolwork. For example, if I figure out a neat way to code something for my statistics class, I'm a little too quick to think, "I hope my professor thinks this was cool and impressive," when, instead, I should be focusing on the fact that I learned how to do something I hadn't before. I'm getting better at that (especially as I continually strive to have a growth mindset!), but it was interesting to see just how much our actions influence whether those around us are striving for personal growth or external validation.
The other thing that I found interesting was when Kohn talked about how manipulative it can be for us to tell a child, "good job!" when they do something new or particularly well. I never really thought of it that way, but it does make sense. However, I slightly disagree with her, especially when it comes to teaching kids about basic societal standards. Humans are social creatures and will constantly observe the behaviors of those around them to see if they are behaving properly. I think it can be good to reinforce some traits in children, but I do agree that there are ways to do it that don't inherently tie their self-worth to external validation.
Overall, I enjoyed this week's reading and felt some personal challenges in it!
Comments
Post a Comment