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I agree that it is an extremely important factor in curriculum. The article mentions that major factors for predicting adult success are intelligence, family's socioeconomic status and self-control. Given the difficulty in changing the former two, and the demonstrated potential to alter self-control, it seems necessary that this be a major component of elementary school curriculum and continue to be taught in middle and high school. Self control seems particularly important in high school when individuals are faced with more freedoms and especially more dangerous freedoms, such as choosing experimentation with drugs and alcohol over staying in to study. One potential issue I do see in teaching self-control effectively (as mentioned in the three curriculum article) is the problem of creating reward junkie. It seems like many of the benefits to be reaped from self-control are not as immediate as children may like to see, and so reward systems may be harder to implement given the lack of immediate reinforcement. But if an method could be found, it seems like reward systems could be beneficial. Despite the risk of becoming reward junkies, reward systems can be very effective with teaching behavioral type actions.

While teaching self-control is important to learn at a young age i believe this is the parents job. If parents do not reinforce this behavior at home the teachers' efforts would be useless. Teachers are teaching theory in the classroom and parents are living practice outside the home.

I agree completely with the above statement that such teaching is the parents' job. In my opinion, parents across the board are letting not only their own kids down, but their kids' classmates as well by not doing their parenting jobs effectively at home.

A New Yorker article following up on the marshmallow study

The video of the kids in this marshmallow study is priceless.

This is crazy research. I don't even have much else to say. I do agree though. I think self-discipline is important. But I almost think balance is more important. I think it's OK to indulge occasionally. We need to learn discretion and discernment to know when to indulge and when to be disciplined.