<p>My daughter's school is having a roundtable about this topic. I thought it was very interesting when I read the article and I can completely see my kids are one of each type of brain.<br>
NAIS</a> - Publications - Independent School Magazine - Brainology</p>
<p>Thanks for the interesting post!</p>
<p>It seems there is a Brainology website with software.
I found this link after some searching: The</a> Brainology Program: Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Anyone have experience with the software?</p>
<p>On another forum where I post, a "Mom's" group where we talk about all kinds of issues with kids, I brought up the "too much praise" argument. Result: people hated it. Everyone told me I was trying to make it seem like they were bad mothers and anyway how could praise be wrong? This article does a much better job of explaining the type of praise that demotivates kids. It makes sense to me that kids will work harder if they feel like effort matters more than just native intelligence.</p>
<p>This is a good article The</a> Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids -- New York Magazine.</p>
<p>Here is part of it:
What do we make of a boy like Thomas?</p>
<p>Thomas (his middle name) is a fifth-grader at the highly competitive P.S. 334, the Anderson School on West 84th. Slim as they get, Thomas recently had his long sandy-blond hair cut short to look like the new James Bond (he took a photo of Daniel Craig to the barber). Unlike Bond, he prefers a uniform of cargo pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of one of his heroes: Frank Zappa. Thomas hangs out with five friends from the Anderson School. They are “the smart kids.” Thomas’s one of them, and he likes belonging.</p>
<p>Since Thomas could walk, he has heard constantly that he’s smart. Not just from his parents but from any adult who has come in contact with this precocious child. When he applied to Anderson for kindergarten, his intelligence was statistically confirmed. The school is reserved for the top one percent of all applicants, and an IQ test is required. Thomas didn’t just score in the top one percent. He scored in the top one percent of the top one percent.</p>
<p>But as Thomas has progressed through school, this self-awareness that he’s smart hasn’t always translated into fearless confidence when attacking his schoolwork. In fact, Thomas’s father noticed just the opposite. “Thomas didn’t want to try things he wouldn’t be successful at,” his father says. “Some things came very quickly to him, but when they didn’t, he gave up almost immediately, concluding, ‘I’m not good at this.’ ” With no more than a glance, Thomas was dividing the world into two—things he was naturally good at and things he wasn’t.</p>
<p>For instance, in the early grades, Thomas wasn’t very good at spelling, so he simply demurred from spelling out loud. When Thomas took his first look at fractions, he balked. The biggest hurdle came in third grade. He was supposed to learn cursive penmanship, but he wouldn’t even try for weeks. By then, his teacher was demanding homework be completed in cursive. Rather than play catch-up on his penmanship, Thomas refused outright. Thomas’s father tried to reason with him. “Look, just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you don’t have to put out some effort.” (Eventually, he mastered cursive, but not without a lot of cajoling from his father.)</p>
<p>Why does this child, who is measurably at the very top of the charts, lack confidence about his ability to tackle routine school challenges?</p>
<p>I don't think we're talking about NOT praising our children. I think it's WHAT we praise. Praise the EFFORT, not the talent.<br>
I know we said things like "you're so smart, we know you can do it - with just a little effort." And when the good grade came it was "Great job, you're so smart." Instead of "What a great job, you worked hard for that grade."<br>
My son's experience is what was described in the brainology article and what Burb posted. </p>
<p>On the software, I saw that site too and have no idea if it's good. I gave my son the NAIS article on brain development and will keep talking to him about effort and rewarding it.</p>
<p>Not a prep school parent (just a lurker in these parts), but thanks for sharing this great article!</p>
<p>My d attends JHU/CTY summers. She is amazed who many students how many brainiacs taking science and engineering in the summer can spell cat or or tell you the product of 9 and 8. Really smart kids commonly have blind spots. But they cope and dodge. Its normal and they are not alone. The import task for parents is to accept the non-brainiac parts and not let the kid's self esteem flag.</p>
<p>MIT actually has a seminar for undergraduate students called "what if they find out I'm an impostor" Self doubt sinks smart kids; help them understand that one weak smart does not make the stupid</p>