Home » ExchangeEveryDay » Praise Children for Effort, Not Intelligence



ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues


<< Previous Issue | View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> ExchangeEveryDay
Praise Children for Effort, Not Intelligence
November 4, 2019
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.
-Ellen Parr

In an article on the curiosity.com website, Ashley Hamer writes: “Science says that praising your kids for being smart can backfire — it's a safer bet to praise them for being hard workers...

How could praising a child for something as valuable as intelligence be bad? By making children think that their achievement was a result of something they are, rather than something they did… Repeatedly, studies going as far back as the 1980s have shown that when children are praised for intelligence instead of effort, they do worse on academic tasks…Encourage children to exercise their mind like a muscle, and then praise them for their persistence, effort, and hard work rather than just being smart.”

And writing in the book, Art of Leadership: Promoting Early Childhood Services, Anne W. Mitchell makes the point that when early childhood educators understand information such as Hamer’s article above, children’s development blossoms. Mitchell offers “three basic ingredients that make a high-quality program:

  1. Structure: small classes, enough adults, stable adults;
  2. Environment: a supportive learning environment guided by well-designed curriculum;
  3. Process: effective teachers who interact positively with each child, supported with professional development, reflective supervision, and good compensation.”

Source:  “Here’s Why You Should Praise Your Kids for Their Work Ethic, Not Their Smarts,” by Ashley Hamer, curiosity.com, February 23, 2017





The Art of Leadership
Promoting
Early Childhood Organizations

Use coupon code PROMOTING
to get this book for only $19

Promoting Early Childhood Services offers ideas for financial management and ways to advocate for the importance of early childhood services, all topics relevant to today’s needs. To support you, this resource is 20% off for a limited time.

Use code PROMOTING when prompted.

Offer valid through August 31, 2022, at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
May not be combined with any other offer.
Not applicable on past purchases or bulk discounts.

ExchangeEveryDay

Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

What is ExchangeEveryDay?

ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.

Amazon Business - Simplfy Shopping for Your School and Save.
IL ASCD - Statewide Conference.
T.Bagby - Spend lesss time gathering information and more time teaching.




Post a Comment

Have an account? to submit your comment.


required

Your e-mail address will not be visible to other website visitors.
required
required
required

Check the box below, to help verify that you are not a bot. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this form.



Disclaimer: Exchange reserves the right to remove any comments at its discretion or reprint posted comments in other Exchange materials.