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June 24, 2003 A few years back, I was dating a gal who was studying to be a teacher. One night during dinner, she opined over her future vocation, saying, “Kids don’t need to learn math; they need to learn self-esteem! I learned math and I’ve never used it.” Now, think about that one and let it sink in (and if you start to feel a little lightheaded, please have a seat until it passes). I didn’t say it at the time, but the irony that was obviously lost on her was that part of the reason she was becoming a teacher, as opposed to, oh, say a civil engineer or actuary, was because she had never used math. For her to extrapolate her personal experience and somehow apply it as a truism for future generations was downright silly. I’ve since parted ways with her, but the comment has stuck. It’s frightening because I know her instructors fed her that tripe. Indeed, the concept of building self-esteem, as opposed to focusing on the core skills that have worked over centuries of proven education, is a commonly accepted tenet among today’s elite “educators.” It’s also causing immeasurable harm to America’s kids. It’s no secret that American children consistently rank near the bottom in basic skills tests when compared to kids from other industrialized nations (many of which have larger class sizes on average or spend less per pupil - let’s get that nonsense out of the way right now). What isn’t as well known is that American kids rank at the top when asked ahead of the test how they think they will do. In short, they are of the opinion that they will do very well, but actually fare poorly. This is “building self-esteem” in action, everybody. In addition to dumbing down education, and therefore our kids, this drive for self-esteem has manifested itself in more ridiculous ways. On the playground, any games that involve competition are being famously scrubbed away, lest a child have his feelings hurt. Tag, for example, is verboten in some schools. The reason? Someone has to be “it.” (I guess we don’t want some kid to get confused and think he’s that razor-toothed clown from Stephen King.) Guilty of being semi-violent and very competitive, dodge ball is also taboo. On a personal note, I was awful at dodge ball when I was a teen. I could stay alive with the best of them, but, being a scrawny kid, my shots had all the velocity of Stonehenge. Only the most distracted of players ever felt my slow motion “wrath.” Did it hurt my feelings when the 13-year old with the hyperactive pituitary gland tuned me up with a red gym ball? A little. But every now and then, I’d get in that lucky shot, or make a one-in-a-million half court basket to free the jail (y’all had that rule, right?). Those moments felt great…and took the sting out of the next ten shots to the head. At the risk of sounding preachy, I’d argue that real achievement, however infrequent, is what motivates a child. Accomplishments tell us where our strengths - and weaknesses - lie. We learn how and when to apply the former, as well as work on the latter. Indeed, true self-esteem is not built by keeping kids out of competitive situations, whether in the classroom or on the playground. Telling everyone they did a great job, whether they really did or not, develops a falsely inflated sense of self-worth. (What’s even worse is flattening out the standards to a level where all kids appear to achieve.) But instead of helping kids go through this essential learning process, today’s “educators” believe that making everyone feel good trumps all. It’s doing kids a tremendous disservice and does nothing to prepare them for the competition that is life. You can, as the saying goes, weep just a little for the future…I have been doing it for the last three years. ------------ About Matthew Bastian: Recovering socialist, part-time drummer, long-suffering Brewers fan, and all-around beach hound, Mr. Bastian lives in central New Jersey. Email Matthew Bastian: mbastian19@hotmail.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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