Article of the Week

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=21.875% BGCOLOR="#66CCCC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="019228a0.jpg" border=0 width="34" height="650" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>Volume I, Issue 9</B></div> <div> <B>May 23, 2003</B></div> <div> <B>________________</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0326c540.jpg" border=0 width="108" height="84" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Page"><U><B>Editorial</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Summary"><U><B>Summary</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Early Childhood Education</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Atelier News"><U><B>Atelier News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="School News"><U><B>School News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="For Us to Grow"><U><B>For Us to Grow</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact"><U><B>Contact</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Index.html"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="06e00c00egerdp.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="01273790.jpg" border=0 width="627" height="121" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="552" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC66 HEIGHT= 30 WIDTH="546"><div> <B> <A NAME="article_of_the_week"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Early Childhood Education</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 994 WIDTH="546"><bR> <div> <B>"The Problem With Self Esteem"</B></div> <bR> <div> The latest educational fad has come and gone...or has it? Building children's s<I>elf esteem</I> has been the focus, the priority and even the obsession of many parents and educators for the past ten years. But the appeal of this movement has started to fade with some, as news of self esteem problems come to light. </div> <bR> <div> While once touted as the cure for a misbehaving child, (<I>If he just had more self esteem, he would do better</I>), the issue of self esteem, like most other complex psychological constructs, has shown itself to be a double-edged sword. Self esteem seen as a goal in and of itself, not a by-product of good character, has its problems. </div> <bR> <div> On the one hand, developing self esteem appears necessary for young children as part of an overall positive self image. Teachers and parents praise and encourage children, hoping to instill a positive view of self. Our words, our actions, how we respond to children tells them what we think of them. </div> <bR> <div> On the other hand, an inflated or inappropriate level of self esteem has been found to be tied to narcissistic behavior, even violent behavior, in some children who apparently separate their good feelings about themselves from the destructive actions they engage in. Children who hear how great they are regardless of their behaviors receive confusing, conflicting messages. </div> <bR> <div> It is clear that in all the effort to give every child a positive self-image, parents and educators may have lost sight of the true meaning of self esteem: not just an independent positive idea of self, but rather self esteem as a reflection of one's good character, and a genuine self-respect. </div> <bR> <div> Self esteem has become an end in itself, an affirmation of the value of every child, without regard to individual behavior, ethics, or responsibility. But without foundation, self esteem is merely a false sense of self importance. In trying to get kids to feel good, we have inadvertently gotten children to feel unaccountable, even superior. </div> <bR> <div> It has become obvious by now that the problem with many popular methods of increasing self esteem is that they give children an empty sort of praise. Used as a manipulation, a tool for developing positive self regard, praising children has become another way to avoid the real problems that children face, such as fear of failure, guilt and shame, and self doubt. </div> <bR> <div> Guilt, while sometimes felt without cause, can be a healthy reaction to one's conscience knowing right from wrong. Likewise, shame, a natural reaction to the sense that others know you have acted inappropriately, does not always occur without benefit and opportunity for learning. In a world of self esteem priorities, shame and guilt only serve to detract from positive self image. </div> <bR> <div> Instead of encouraging positive behavior, the practice of praising all children for all behaviors, regardless of effort, intention or appropriateness has led to confused children, who are less able to judge right action from wrong, always mindful that no matter what they do, they will be praised. </div> <bR> <div> In conclusion, it may be the case that putting self esteem as a goal, rather than letting it become a natural consequence of good behavior is what the debate is all about. Can we teach children to be responsible, competent, compassionate, just and kind when we also teach them that their actions do not impact their development of these characteristics? Is it really possible to teach children to love themselves without promoting narcissism and selfish behavior? </div> <bR> <div> Ultimately, this is an issue that parents and educators must struggle with and decide for themselves. In the meantime, children are learning that self esteem is not enough-- you have to be a good person to win the respect and admiration of others, no matter what your parents or teachers told you. Deep down we all really know what we think of ourselves, and while parents and teachers can influence, children cannot be manipulated into a positive self image.</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 989 WIDTH="546"><bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>All the articles that have been published in </B><B><U>The Third Angle</U></B><B> are archived at </B><A HREF="http://thejoyoflearning.com/projects70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://thejoyoflearning.com/projects70.h"><U><B>The Joy of Learning Website's Library</B></U></A><B>. I will be working in translating some of them, with the purpose of publishing them in Spanish. Please be patient, because it is a lot of work!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Below you can find the complete list.</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="04690070.jpg" border=0 width="144" height="7" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Todos los artículos que hemos estado publicando en El Tercer Angulo están archivados en la </B><A HREF="http://www.thejoyoflearning.com/projects70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thejoyoflearning.com/projects"><U><B>Biblioteca del website de The Joy of Learning</B></U></A><B>. Yo voy a trabajar en la traducción de algunos de ellos, con el propósito de publicarlos en español. Por favor, tengan paciencia, porque es muchísimo trabajo!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Aquí tienen la lista completa.</B></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="548" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFCC66 HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="544"><div> <B>Articles on Early Childhood Education</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 422 ><NOBR><div> <I><B>Letter posted in the Reggio List Serv by Carolyn Steinhoff Smith</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>What is The New Literacy? by Susan Rich Sheridan</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>What Does Research Say About Early Childhood Education? </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>by S. Bredekamp, R.A. Knuth, L.GKunesh, and D.D. Shulman</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Reggio Inspired Approach, by Dr. Rebecca Isbell</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>What Parents Can Do To Promote Sensory Integration In Their Child</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Contribution of Documentation to the Quality of Early Childhood Education </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>by  Lilian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Encouraging Creativity by Evelyn Petersen</B></I></div> <div> <I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Parent Talk</B></I><I><B> </B></I><I><B>The Reggio Emilia Approach (Fragment) by Amy Sussna Klein, Ed.D.</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0099CC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Beyond the Attentive Eye, by George Forman</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Tips for Handling Anger, </B></I><I><B>by Joan E. LeFebvre</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC66 HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="544"><div> <B>Articles by Silvia A. Ramos</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 193 WIDTH="544"><bR> <div> <I><B>Two Apparently Different Educative Goals (English)</B></I><I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>(Spanish)</B></I><I><B> </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Playing vs Learning?</B></I><I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>(Spanish)</B></I><I><B> </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Se Trata de aprender a ser libres</B></I><I><B> (Spanish)</B></I><I><B> </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Reggio Emilia Approach -Utopia o Realidad?</B></I><I><B> (Spanish)</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="546"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="20" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="546" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="546"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="23" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="546" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="546"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="546" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#CCCCCC HEIGHT= 100 ><NOBR><div> <B> <IMG SRC="03f36290.jpg" border=0 width="54" height="41" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Third Angle / El Tercer </B><B>Á</B><B>ngulo</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Page"><U>Editorial</U></A> | <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Summary"><U>Summary</U></A> | Early Childhood Education | <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Atelier News"><U> Atelier News</U></A> | <A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="School News"><U>School News</U></A>| <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="For Us to Grow"><U>For Us to Grow</U></A> | <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links </U></A><A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact"><U>Contact</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFCC66 HEIGHT= 14 WIDTH="546"><div> Copyright: 2003, <A HREF="http://www.thejoyoflearning.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thejoyoflearning.com"><U>The Joy of Learning</U></A>. 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