Harvard Education Letter - 2 views
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Behaviors like embracing novel experiences, supporting peers, even pestering parents for lessons can predict whether a child will emerge as a leader in adulthood, according to researchers who say they are the first to plot a pathway from childhood experiences to adult leadership.
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new studies use longitudinal data
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relative importance of factors such as the role of parents, inner motivational drive, intelligence, childhood social skills, and personality traits like extroversion
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106 subjects
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one through age 29
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everyday” leaders
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“taking on the role of and engaging in the process of influencing others toward a common endeavor, goal or cause, regardless of designated formal position.
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Researchers met with the children (and parents) twice a year for the first four years, then once a year through age 17 and once at 24 and again at 29.
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20 for each child
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18,000 variables
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hat children as young as two reveal temperaments that predict for later leadership
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novel situation
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more extroverted, socially engaging and become everyday leaders.”
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children who placed the most demands on teachers and parents to join or do activities were more likely to be leaders as adults.
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quest to acquire new skills and knowledge
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invested in and committed
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parent’s support i
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stronger motivation trumped higher IQ
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She says the study offers a strong argument for schools “to do things fundamentally differently.
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Carol S. Dweck
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growth mindset
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schools place such heavy emphasis on extrinsic rewards like test scores and classroom prizes that they risk stifling development of students’ inner drive.
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What do you think? Do you agree with this statement about schools reinforcing the extrinsic reward system? -
(after researching what "extrinsic" meant..) I agree with what Dweck and Adele Gottfriend observed- that we focus/reinforce exterior rewards like grades so greatly that students are at risk of losing their inner motivation. I think that especially in our youth we focus a lot numerical values like test scores and especially money (which, in the long run really do make up our future) so much, that we lack having motivation in what we truly want to do with ourselves. For example, at WIC, marks are a huge deal- however lets say, a top A student truly desires to become a photographer, yet, at school he or she is so convinced that they must do well within the 'extrinsic rewards' that they loose their passion. This isn't to say that it's a bad thing, but I think that often times who we are "meant to be" is diminished/over-shadowed by what society(SCHOOL) tells us we should do and focus on. -
I do agree with this statement due to the fact that kids today have a lot of pressure and feel the need to get good marks, only because schools put heavy emphasis on it, and not because they are motivated. People have to realize that school is not just about getting good grades, but also it is about finding yourself and seeing what you would like to do in the future. -
I agree that teens focus a lot on their marks and that they don't take the time to get invovle in after school's activities. Because they need to have good marks to go to College, they have so much pressure to be one of the best students and that prevents them to show their leadership by being in charge of some activities in their school or in the community. Also, the marks give them an idea of how good they are at something and it makes them proud and they know it will help them for the future because it will be easier to get accepted in Cegep. However, when they get involve in an activity the reward is not numerical so they don't know that it will help them in the future. -
I do agree, I think schools want students to be academicaly knowledgable that they forget about the "street smarts" as we say. However, not all schools do this. Schools like WIC have a huge variety of E.C.A's that we can also get rewarded for. There is the new tie that shows how good of an athelete you are. SOme schools are taking the step up, however it is true that most schools look to closely into the academics of a child and not into their personality. -
I do not agree with this statement. I think that the reward system teaches discipline. It teaches that if you want good marks and you want to succeed, you must work hard by putting time and effort into your school books. Much of the time, we are graded on creativity but in some cases like Math class, a teacher cannot give a grade on the growth of one's mindset when the answer is not subjective. The grading system is not broken, so why are we trying to fix it? In my opinion, I think this is just another psychological fad like many. -
I do agree that schools put a lot of emphasis on grades and that our educational system is based on students getting better grades. Schools focus too much on the grades of each student. To be able to succeed in a career two things must be achieved the intelligence or knowledge and the ambition for success. In our schools we cannot only teach one part of the road to success, we must also encourage students to follow in what they want and to dedicate everything to it. With motivation and the drive to succeed people can achieve almost anything and we must teach that being motivated for a subject is better than having the smarts for it. Success comes with motivation and perseverance without them there is no way you can become successful. -
Personally, I don't agree with schools putting such emphasis on marks. But I can see where they are coming from. Later in life (cegep, university, etc.), students will be based on marks and not on enthusiasm or how they organize extra curricular activities. High school is supposed to prepare you for cegep and university. On the other hand, if all levels of schooling (from elementary school to university) were not based on extrinsic reward systems, there would be many more visionaries and independent workers coming out of school. -
I agree with this statement because in my opinion, youth these days are focused on grades and numbers as motivation when we should be focusing on the reasons why we want to succeed. The reason why we focus on this is because of the influence for school but it has nothing to do with the fact that they are motivated. I believe that schools put too much emphasis on being "book smart" which is evidentially a good thing but they don't realize that that knowledge is only useful if they teach "street smarts" as well. It is important to be book smart and know all the facts but for kids to be motivated, they need to relate it to real life which is where the motivation should come from. -
I concur with the previous answers: schools tend to focus on pure knowledge and rewarding those who regurgitate memorized facts. The educational system usually ends up ignoring those who step up and try to use this knowledge, or dissuading them by giving them low marks and negative feedback until they conform to the system. We impress certain ideals and behaviours into children, and of this group of values, nourishing leadership is excluded in favour of teaching kids how to follow and how to work for immediate, physical rewards. -
Yes I agree with this statement. The grading system holds back students from being open with their thoughts compared to what the teachers want them to think. Students should have freedom which would help them be more open minded. After school activities and natural intelligence are aspects that students can be good at outside of the classrooms. Success is based not only on grades, but on ambition, determination and perseverance also. -
I disagree. I believe that too much pressure on marks, awards, etc. leaves way too much pressure on the students. Being a student, I have experienced this many times and it can be quite unhealthy because stress is not a good thing for the mind or for the body. -Eli Michon -
I believe that this statement is true, we are free spirits, we should be able to think like free spirit students and have our own freedom! By taking initiative they are becoming leaders in their own way. Expressing yourself and following your thoughts is a huge part of today's society. What will our world be without students who can learn to eventually become leaders? -
I believe that schools rightfully put a large amount of emphasis on the academic results however this doesn't mean the other domains should be left behind. Grades and academic achievements are very important and schools should make this their main focus. This being said, I do feel as if most schools forget about the other aspects of an education. Schools should be able to cater to and identify with all of their students meaning that someone who isn't labeled as "smart" can still feel appreciated. Just because someone isn't academically gifted doesn't mean that they can not be successful. I think schools should reward their students for other things then just brain capacity. I think West Island College does a good job of that. Not only do we mark effort but we go as far as to commend students on various athletic skills, public speaking, helping the community (interact or green and grey). I think WIC does a good job of focusing on the well rounded student rather then just the one dimensional "genius" that most schools put up on a pedestal. As Albert Einstein once said "Everybody is genius but if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing that it is stupid." -
I completely agree that this is the method that most schools use. A lot of emphasis is placed on extrinsic rewards in the educational system. I believe that this is a negative thing to do because students then lack inner motivation. They no longer want to do things for themselves, and more for the satisfaction of pleasing others, or receiving a high test score. Even though receiving a high test score might seem like a goal they want to pursue it's not truly for themselves, it is to please someone else.
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rich variety of experiences and give students choices
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take charge of their own learning
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‘make or break skills’ that come on top of the three Rs
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I believe that the student is more likely to become a community leader because of the fact they they "choose" to do all this extra work, they're not being forced too. They're taking a choice to help others and inspire others. That's LEADERSHIP! When they say "children who placed the most demands on teachers and parents to join or do activities were more likely to be leaders as adults", that pretty much sums up my point exactly. I believe that those students are more likely to become leaders because they are taking such initiative now, it will only impact them positively in the future to do more! -
I believe that a students desire to partake in schooling events, and acting as a leader is extriemly personal to the student. I think that students, as well as teenagers and children can develop leader ship skills, and the fact that it is to be rewarded in schools is in my opinion wrong. There is a variety of kids, that find themselfs in the role of "leader" in many situations other than in school. I think that in rewarding kids to become leaders, we are further removing their individuality, witch in my opinion is alredy being taken away through means adapted by our society. -
I believe that leadership is not something that is taught but rather a personality trait that is developed by the individual themselves (as it said in the article, some children as young as two can have behaviours that may lead to the skills of a good leader). Some are born to be leaders, they have it in them to encourage, to motivate and positively influence others around them. People who demonstrate this features should definitely be encouraged by parents and by their school to develop these skills because if they start young and keep these habits they will most likely carry them through their whole lives. However i also think as jordyn said above, a good leader is someone who wants to take the initiative to partake in extra work or activities, not someone who is forced to do it.
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