In an editorial published by the Houston (TX, US) Chronicle, Ashley Herzog takes direct aim at schools’ oft-expressed interest in promoting self-esteem. The opinion piece is entitled, “No Way to Succeed: The flaws of the self-esteem fad: Research doesn’t justify obsession in U.S. schools.” Here’s her lead:
“Self-esteem,” it seems, is the 1990s fad that just won’t die. A few weeks ago, a newspaper based in Athens, Ohio (where my school, Ohio University, is located) ran a story about a new feel-good program at nearby Amesville Elementary School. Fittingly dubbed Amesville Rocks, the program is designed “to make the kids feel important,” in the words of one school employee. In accordance with the theme of self-adulation, the article described how the whole school applauded themselves “as if it were the Academy Awards.”
After a little more about the Ohio school, Ms. Herzog continues by discussing research and other scholarly work undergirding her indictment of the schools for unwarranted emphasis on self-esteem. She hits several very good points (e.g., mismatch between students’ performance on tests and their self-reports of their competence in the areas tested), making her column a worthwhile read.
Link to Ms. Herzog’s column.
For a thorough scholarly examination of what psychology knows about self-esteem, download this free article
If you’re really smitten with self-esteem and similar new-age, neo-pop-psych sorts of ideas, you might want to read Wendy Kaminer’s I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional: The Recovery Movement and Other Self-Help Fashions and Steve Salerno’s Sham: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless.
As a teacher I think I can use the Wendy Kaminer’s self-help books for my students for my subject in self-esteem.
Thanks for the great share!
-Jan
Hi, Jan (or whatever your name is).
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. I thought it sounded a little fishy, as Professor Kaminer’s books would probably be pretty heavy for students other than those at the collegiate level. Also, she dings the self-esteem movement pretty seriously, but your note made it sound like you were supporting the movement. Then, when I followed the URL you supplied, I realized that your comment would simply drive traffic to s site aggregating self-esteem content. So, I had to decide whether to send your site to the spam lists or remove the URL. I chose the latter.
Sincerely,
Admin