Passthepotatoes, interesting that the former theory was forumulated by a woman and the latter a male. I think females in general have more of a need for approval and males emphasize their performance from a more objective standpoint.
I think whether you actually tell a child that they are putting in effort or not, it is absolutely necessary that they put in some degree of effort. But how do teachers know that one child who makes a 100 put in a lot of effort and another child who received the same 100 put in little effort? I don't think that most teachers are observant enough to tell the difference. Even I remember as a child being called a 'bookworm' and studious because I had a decent verbal IQ, not because I really was studious. I actually was extremely lazy and non-academic until much later.
I wonder if it is almost more advantageous for an intelligent child to perform very poorly because then the incongruity is noticed when they ace the standardized tests. They end up getting special services because it is obvious that they are not challenged and something is amiss.
Last edited by connieculkins; 05/03/10 06:45 AM.
