KOHN: Five Reasons to stop saying “Good Job!”
Alfie Kohn’s article, Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job!” states that kids have become “praise junkies.” He says that since young children are so “hungry” for approval, adults have a responsibility not to “exploit that dependence” for their own convenience. This is one of the most on-going controversial topics we have explored in our work with parents and educators during the past twenty-three years.
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Ann Treacy replied:
I really enjoyed that article. I have always wondered about too much “good job” especially when someone really hasn’t done a good job – they’ve just done what they should have done or needed to do or worse, they’re not actually good at something. I thank the person who finally said to me – maybe singing isn’t your thing. It freed me up for finding my thing – and ensured that’s I’d never be subjected to an American Idol audition.
Thanks for the good reminder.
August 3, 2008 at 5:20 pm. Permalink.