Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job
This was the first title that jumped out to me, so I chose it as one of my articles to read! I think that this article makes some really valid points that I hadn't considered before and it has started to change my perspective on praise and feedback in general. Some of the most interesting points were that sometimes telling a child good job can be seen as manipulative. This is because we sometimes tell this to a child in order to get a specific reaction/behavior out of them. Because children are often "hungry for approval", praising them can be effective in the short-term but may not be motivation enough to continue that desired behavior long-term. Another point that I had not previously considered is that repetitive praise can turn kids into "praise junkies", making it so that they begin to measure their worth by how often we praise them. I think this excerpt from the article sums up this negative effect pretty well: "In short, "Good job!" doesn’t reassure children; ultimately, it makes them feel less secure. It may even create a vicious circle such that the more we slather on the praise, the more kids seem to need it, so we praise them some more. Sadly, some of these kids will grow into adults who continue to need someone else to pat them on the head and tell them whether what they did was OK. Surely this is not what we want for our daughters and sons."
What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow?
This article is one that logically follows the previous article I read. This article talks about how preschool aged kids are in a delicate stage of life in which they are developing their sense of self. Because of this, it is important to be specific and intentional with the language you use when praising them. It goes on to talk about the growth mindset and how mindsets are malleable and always have room to change. One of the strongest points in this article is how generic praise, although easy to give, lacks instructional value and are less beneficial than descriptive statements or "progress praise". For example, instead of saying "good job", it might be more benficial to say "good job doing _____" so as to be more specific in what you are praising.
This was the first title that jumped out to me, so I chose it as one of my articles to read! I think that this article makes some really valid points that I hadn't considered before and it has started to change my perspective on praise and feedback in general. Some of the most interesting points were that sometimes telling a child good job can be seen as manipulative. This is because we sometimes tell this to a child in order to get a specific reaction/behavior out of them. Because children are often "hungry for approval", praising them can be effective in the short-term but may not be motivation enough to continue that desired behavior long-term. Another point that I had not previously considered is that repetitive praise can turn kids into "praise junkies", making it so that they begin to measure their worth by how often we praise them. I think this excerpt from the article sums up this negative effect pretty well: "In short, "Good job!" doesn’t reassure children; ultimately, it makes them feel less secure. It may even create a vicious circle such that the more we slather on the praise, the more kids seem to need it, so we praise them some more. Sadly, some of these kids will grow into adults who continue to need someone else to pat them on the head and tell them whether what they did was OK. Surely this is not what we want for our daughters and sons."
What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow?
This article is one that logically follows the previous article I read. This article talks about how preschool aged kids are in a delicate stage of life in which they are developing their sense of self. Because of this, it is important to be specific and intentional with the language you use when praising them. It goes on to talk about the growth mindset and how mindsets are malleable and always have room to change. One of the strongest points in this article is how generic praise, although easy to give, lacks instructional value and are less beneficial than descriptive statements or "progress praise". For example, instead of saying "good job", it might be more benficial to say "good job doing _____" so as to be more specific in what you are praising.
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| Good job sticky note, Flickr |
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