I’m gonna be honest.  I can hear every single word from Tot Spot which is directly under my desk.  And do you know what phrase I hear more than anything?  “Good job!”  The habit is part of a syndrome I’ve noticed a lot of grown-ups seem to have, and I’d love to see it evolve into really meaningful praise which supports intrinsic motivation in young children.

We’ve been talking about intrinsic motivation upstairs in the Education Department ever since our recent visit to the magical Roseville Community Preschool where they take a very hands-off approach to early childhood education.  Bev Bos, who directs and teaches at the school, has written for the last 30 years about her belief in fostering independence in young children.  I saw Bev speak a couple months ago and she said something that really blew my mind, “I never ask a child to tell me about their art.”  For any ECE experts out there you know that this is a common alternative to the utterly rejected “What is it?”  Bev’s take on it (and mine too now) is that if a child wants to tell you about what they’ve made, they definitely will.  If a child constantly receives input from adults for every task, they loose their intrinsic motivation and repeat the behavior in order to receive praise or attention.

Above is a fabulous concrete example of praise tactics, based on scientific research, for parents and caregivers from my new favorite blog Half Full: Science for Raising Happy Kids.

Bev’s stance on supporting young children’s art making process is a step towards promoting “effort” over “ability.”  Ultimately- it’s not the actual words “good job” that are the problem.  The phrase “Good job” is a symptom of the larger problem in how many people communicate with young children.  It’s a shortcut that lacks meaning, and doesn’t actually teach children anything without a qualifying statement.  It would be much more meaningful to children if after completing something that is actually a challenge for them an adult says, “Good job!  You worked really hard on that. I love the way you put the toys away, or found the circle that matches the hole, or covered the paper with red paint . . . etc.”

I realize this is a hard habit to break, but nobody said educating young children was easy.  (Really, no one has ever said that, ever, I promise.)  Personally, I try to say: “Nice work.” or “I love that.”  (Sometimes I force myself not to say anything.)  I use these phrases because they make me stop to think, “Do I love this, was that nice work?”  In addition I try to complete the sentiment with exactly why I am giving the praise, “You worked so hard on that sculpture.”  I know that dealing with your child, or the children you care for, requires boundless patience which is sometimes in short supply; taking a little extra time and attention to praise children as is suggested in the video will go far in terms of helping them become a creative and intrinsically motivated person as they grow. 

This entry was posted on 12/08/09 and is filed under Heather Posner.
Tagged: Creativity, Early Childhood Education