You go girl!!! Raise a little hell, raise a little hell, raise a little hell on Gerald Flurry!!!
(I want to thank "Woohoo" for letting me republish this on my blog, I truly like the way this woman thinks!)
One of my hobbies is to read articles from the WCG and write my comments to the cult leader. Guess I'll have to start doing this with the Trumpet as well. I do it for my own entertainment, but I also do it for those who have to confront this tripe on a regular basis.
This article was one that I found both funny and haunting. Can something be both?
My comments in red. That makes them holy...LOL.
What is it? That praise is not just the best, but in fact the only, motivator for children.
Somehow, I can guess what motivator you would prefer.
This idea saturates children’s programs and interactive toys and games. When a child does something right, rather than a simple “That’s right!” they say, “Wow—you’re really smart!”
God forbid that children should think that they are smart. They might grow up to think for themselves. Can't have that, now can we?
American schools in particular emphasize self-esteem as the chief virtue,divorced from achievement or even effort. Thus, children are routinelysheltered from the sting of failure—and therefore trapped in a sunny fantasy world in which bad behavior and poor performance have no negative consequences.
The kernel of truth in this myth is that children grow up and perform best in a positive environment—that an enduring climate of criticismcan be withering. Of course we want our children to be confident, well-adjusted and happy. But overpraise is not the way to get them there.
An example of taking something that nearly everyone believes, then turning it into a total disdain for all praise.
If children grow up best in a positive environment, and if you really care about how children grow up, then it must mean that you believe that the environment of the PCG is positive. Either you are deluded, or you are sick, calculating bastards. (Editor's note: how about both?! I think so.)
In a book called The Feel-Good Curriculum: The Dumbing Down of America’sKids in the Name of Self-Esteem, Maureen Stout pinpoints several destructivemyths that have taken root in our educational system—including: high expectations damage self-esteem; evaluation is punitive, stressful and damaging to self-esteem; discipline is bad for self-esteem; effort is more important than achievement; it is the teacher’s, not the student’s, responsibility to ensure learning.
Ah, we have an expert quoted. I guess you want me to feel non-expert in believing the opposite. Well, I will take it for granted that you actually read Dr. Stout's book and not just the blurb on Amazon. Personally, I think that it is okay to feel good about yourself for no good reason.
Let’s face facts: High self-esteem is wildly overrated. Repeated studies have proven that bloated self-worth doesn’t improve a child’s academic performance, strengthen his interpersonal relationships, help him avoid self-destructive behavior or translate into adult success. In fact, it often hinders a person in all these areas.
Cite your "repeated" studies, please. I guess the Plain Truth about Child Rearing would solve all of these problems?
Is this any surprise? A child raised on the notion that he is a marvel—just as he is—has no motivation to improve.
Wrong. Because he feels that he has inherent self-worth, he is not afraid to try new things, expand his horizons. Even if he fails, he has not failed...he has tried and learned something in the process.
Stout makes a strong case that these ideas, which infect our public schools from kindergarten through college, lead directly to narcissism (preoccupation with self), detachment from one’s community, rejection ofabsolute truth, and cynicism. She also shows a correlation with the dumbing down of curricula, grade inflation, loss of motivation (among teachers as well as students), an unmerited sense of entitlement and the ridiculing of critical thinking skills.
Narcissism? Preoccupation with self? Ridiculing of critical thinking skills? Wow, Gerald, you must have done really well in public school. I thought Ambassador College was the only place that could have systematically produced such effects in adults.
Do we really want our children thinking, “I am even more amazing than I thought”? As one educator put it, who in the world wants to hang out with someone who thinks like that? Studies have shown that self-esteem can actually become self-delusion—a conviction that you are more popular, more capable, more loved, than is really the case. Such self-centered attitudes only alienate other people. At the same time—almost paradoxically—the overpraised child can be addicted to approval from others.
Could being addicted to approval have anything to do with giving oneself such illustrious titles as "Apostle?"
Children who are taught self-worth with no link to personal achievement generally face crushing shocks when reality finally comes knocking, challenging their artificially high opinions of themselves. As we approach adulthood, praise dries up; life’s trials get tougher. The overpraised child, having long been shielded from small failures, finds sudden, big failures overwhelming.
Correction: if they are not taught self worth, they end up as robots, blindly seeking after the praise of those above them morally and spiritually. They do not think.
As for praise drying up in adulthood, I guess you have really handed your members the big dose of reality, right?
When we look at this issue spiritually, we really see its sinister side. The originator of the self-esteem movement is Satan, whose heart was lifted up because of his beauty, who was obsessed with his own brightness (Ezekiel 28:17). This spirit being, the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), pumps our carnal human nature with his egomaniacal attitudes. (Our free booklet What Is Human Nature? explains this truth.) In other words, our children already get enough training in loving themselves above all others without any prodding from misguided educators and overeager parents.
We know how best to teach your kids to love themselves. Educators? Misguided. Parents? Overeager to protect.
God, eminently aware of our vain proclivities, filled His Bible with warnings against flattery and insincere praise like these: “… a flattering mouth worketh ruin”—“A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet” (Proverbs 26:28; 29:5). In Psalm 49, God spells out “the fate of those who have foolish confidence” (verse 13, Revised Standard Version), and it isn’t pretty.
It's called a Lake of Fire. Don't be confident; just keep sending in the cash. It's fire insurance.
That’s not to say that praising our children is wrong, of course. We should think on what is praiseworthy and commendable (e.g. Philippians 4:8). But empty,indiscriminate praise means nothing. Children should receive sincere, specific praise when appropriate. When they scrawl out a crayon picture of clouds, “That’sgorgeous!” is less meaningful—and less truthful—than something along the lines of,“I like how you’re using different colors,” or, “Wow—you’re learning how to drawon paper what you see outside.”
In other words, praise only when kids are learning to do things your way.
Such conversations also lend themselves more to your giving gentle guidance on how to improve the next time. Handled correctly, constructive criticism won’t make our children flinch. We want them to accept it as a boon to personal growth and a crucial part of life. Loving correction, graciously received, is one of life’s greatest gifts. That is a lesson even our children can begin to understand.
Let me reword this paragraph for you. "We want people to receive correction from us without any complaints. Life would be so much damned easier for us if you people didn't have your own will and your own thoughts."
Rather than trying to inject our children with self-worth, we need to help them see reality—the way God helps His children. And reality is this: You are a child. As you strive, you grow. You have much yet to learn. But I love you, and always will—even when you fail—as long as you never give up.
Try modeling this for your members by actually trying it with the adult ones. Just drop the "as long as you never give up" part. Conditional love breeds madness. Oh, wait -- you aren't ethical people, are you? Never mind.
Consider: It is only when we recognize our own inadequacies that we can see the need to seek God’s help to live the right way—the way that will bring happiness. As Jesus Christ told us, “Without me ye can do nothing”—clearly the opposite of self-worth. In the end, our children will need to recognize, deep in their heart,that, like all human beings, they can do nothing without God.
Wow, I loved how you wrapped that all up at the end. Just like Spokesman's Club.
So that's what you ministers are doing in berating people -- getting them to live the right way by showing them their failures. What pompous morons you all are!
We can do nothing without God. I kind of thought that God gave us all free will, but maybe I was mistaken.
You GO GIRL, you give these manipulative twerps hell lady!!!
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