Number of words: 145<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story of the tortoise and the hare, in trying to put forward the power of effort, gave effort a bad name. One more thing about praise. When we say to children, \u201cWow, you did that so quickly!\u201d or \u201cLook, you didn\u2019t make any mistake!\u201d what message are we sending? We are telling them that what we prize are speed and perfection. Speed and perfection are enemy of difficult learning: \u201cIf you think I\u2019m smart when I\u2019m fast and perfect, I\u2019d better not take on anything challenging.\u201d So what should we say when children complete a task \u2013 say, math problems \u2013 quickly and perfectly? Should we deny them the praise they have earned? Yes, When this happens, I say, \u201cWhoops. I guess that was too easy. I apologize for wasting your time. Let\u2019s do something you can really learn from!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n