Ned Vare makes a point I hadn't considered before. He writes that Schools Search for Weakenesses, not Strengths at School is Hell. Schools have an incentive to find children's weaknesses:
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Schools make extra money (lots of it) by diagnosing "disabilities." The schools have what they call, "the bounty system" to get thousands per "diagnosis," from the state, even though the diagnoses are often made on flimsy grounds.
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Ned continues with:
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Strangely, there is no incentive for identifying a child's strengths or gifts or talents. Therefore, schools no longer look for those strengths.
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There is a book called The Greatest Management Principle Ever. The premise is that which gets rewarded gets done. Schools are being rewarded for finding the areas where children are weak. And taking it one step farther, the students get extra attention for having these weaknesses. The children are rewarded for having weaknesses.
Several years ago Janine and I read a parenting book with a similar focus. The author said most children get ten negative comments for every positive comment. He said parents would get much better behavior if they focused on complimenting their children with sincere praise.
I am so glad we can homeschool. We can focus on our daughters' strengths.
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1 comment:
As you can imagine, the needs of the Gifted & Talented are often ignored in public schools while funding goes to helping students with disabilities. Meanwhile, classes are taught to the lowest levels.
This is one reason that many parents of the Gifted & Talented are choosing to homeschool.
I would love to read your comments on my latest post, "Do schools value the gifted & talented?" on http://onlivingbylearning.com.
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