Self-esteem education begins in the early grades. Students read books with titles like Everyone is Special and complete All About Me projects that emphasize their good qualities. Teachers refrain from criticizing children too much, and are careful never to make self-esteem contingent on performance or behavior. As Dr. Jean Twenge, author of the book Generation Me, points out, most self-esteem programs encourage kids to feel good about themselves for no particular reason.
"We want to anchor self-esteem firmly to the child so no matter what the performance might be, the self-esteem remains high," explained one educational theorist quoted in Twenge's book.
According to the touchy-feely pop psychology of the education establishment, high self-esteem makes children smarter and more productive. However, this approach has never been proved to work.
...At its worst, self-esteem education might actually be fostering violent personalities. In the wake of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, Iowa State University psychologist Brad Bushman admitted, "If kids develop unrealistic opinions of themselves and those views are rejected by others, the kids are potentially dangerous."
However, there is one personality trait that is definitely linked to achievement and harmonious social relationships: self-control. Although "discipline" and "obedience" have become dirty words in the education establishment, people with high levels of self-control are the most likely to succeed. They earn higher grades and finish more years of education, and they're less likely to abuse drugs or have children out of wedlock. As Twenge says, "Self-control predicts all of those things researchers had hoped self-esteem would, but hasn't."
As American children fall further behind, it would serve them well for school to throw out the uproven trend of "self-esteem"and instead start teaching the time-tested values of self-respect and self-control.
I second that.
