Comments on: The Pecking Order

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:08:00 +0000

Too much self-esteem appears to have led (at least in the US) to kids who are told they are wonderful at everything they do, and emerge from the school system with a huge amount of self-confidence… which is then shattered when they find out they’re really not as good as they’ve been told.

It seems like it’s been taken too far; the best answer (in my humble opinion!) is to give everyone, including kids, honest feedback. Praise them when they do well, but also point out when they’ve screwed up. Help them to help themselves, so to speak.

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:03:00 +0000

Interesting question. A bit of both? We are urged to build self-esteem in our children, yet if we are too successful in that, do we also not perhaps encourage a lack of humility? I dunno.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:26:00 +0000

I find myself wondering how someone learns humility; is it an inherent trait in their personality, perhaps inculcated during childhood? Does it require one or more major events that teach the individual that perhaps no one person is "better" than another?

The examples cited (and we've all encountered individuals like this) appear to have lived their lives without ever being humbled. Perhaps their personalities simply make them immune to such experiences?

I'd hope that their behaviour should be self-correcting: do they really not care how others react? Are there enough people around them who just ignore such behaviour?

Believing one's own publicity does seem like a very, very dangerous path to take...