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Criticism Of Praise ' Praise

Decent Essays

“Praise” is an action that parents, teachers, and adults overly use when they desire an action from students and children. Most of the time, adults say phrases such as “Good Job” or “Fantastic” to boost the moral of students or children. But praise doesn’t always lead to positive growth of an individual in the long run. There is, however, a stronger alternative to praise that many 21st century Western societies haven’t quite accepted. This is known as criticism. We see criticism everywhere in our daily lives; from the workplace, to sporting events and competitions, and even in schools across America. It’s a lot stronger than praise because it provides students with a basis of comparison, and truth and honesty. Therefore, criticism has a better long-term effect on feedback and growth and should be balanced with praise because it allows students to learn from previous mistakes or issues, forcing them to make a positive change about themselves that could potentially help in the future. There are many problems that appear with the use of general praise on its own. For one, praise feeds into the ego of a student, forcing them into a lazy mindset from the overflow of approval. Carol Dweck, a theorist of human motivation, believes that “praising traits feed the belief that talent is fixed, which makes kids less willing to take on new challenges that might expose them as less naturally able” (Kamenetz). With praise, the child will be less determined to take risks and complete

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