The “how’ of motivation and encouragement is a matter of
using the right words and focus.
We all want smart kids and grand-kids. However, we think we are doing a good thing
when telling them “you are so smart”.
“After seven experiments with hundreds of
children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising
children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance.
How can that be? Don’t children love to be praised?”
Yes, children love praise. And they especially
love to be praised for their intelligence and talent. It really does give them
a boost, a special glow—but only for the moment.
The minute they hit a snag, their confidence
goes out the window and their motivation hits rock bottom. If success means
they’re smart, then failure means they’re dumb. That’s the fixed mindset.”
Carol promotes the idea of “you tried your best. You did good work.
I like that a lot. It
is recognition for the effort made, and now let’s see if we can find out where
we got off track and fix that.
That takes the smart/dumb equation out of the mix
entirely. It is now down to a
good/better solution than we first thought.
Consider that as an educator/coach/parent.
Michael Biggs
Steps and
Skips
Tips for
the Developing Student
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