Today an article was published in the Washington Post titled "U.S. Teen Brimming with Self-Esteem." The article outlines the inflated sense of self in high schoolers, observed by researchers from Psychology Today. The author of this article and the researchers from the work she cites propose that over-confidence in everything from relationships to school to careers to general competencies makes the transistion in the "real world" even more difficult for these teens than teens of previous generations.
What are your thoughts on this ongoing self-esteem movement for younger generations? Can you recall your transistion into adulthood and the impediments you encountered in that process? What do you think a balanced sense of esteem should look like for this age? How can a library provide well-rounded support to ground that confidence in actual skills and knowledge for these emerging adults?
Mundell, E.J. "U.S. Teen Brimming with Self-Esteem." Washington Post. 12 November 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111200962.html
What are your thoughts on this ongoing self-esteem movement for younger generations? Can you recall your transistion into adulthood and the impediments you encountered in that process? What do you think a balanced sense of esteem should look like for this age? How can a library provide well-rounded support to ground that confidence in actual skills and knowledge for these emerging adults?
Mundell, E.J. "U.S. Teen Brimming with Self-Esteem." Washington Post. 12 November 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111200962.html
4 comments:
Better too much self-esteem than too little.
I think our teen volunteer programs (from TAB/Teen Corps to Summer Reading volunteers) are a great way to both build self-esteem and ground them in learning real-life skills and responsibilities.
~Monica
This article rings true with me, because I grew up in "Generation Me," and most of the kids I went to school with in my primarily white, middle class neighborhood seemed to think they were born into a life of privelege and entitlement that meant they shouldn't have to do things they don't want to. For example: when we graduated from college and started looking for jobs, several of the people I graduated with were unwilling to work a lesser paying job until they found their career, because they had a bachelor's degree, and thought they were above working in retail or "blue collar" jobs. Many of them also seemed to think they would find an entry level job that paid them $40,000+ right off the bat. I agree that the SRP volunteer program and TABS help teens learn some "real life" skills, but I think we should offer some more programs that stress the importance of going to college, or help them decide where to go and how to pay for it. We could even offer a program where the kids could take a career test or find out which schools/majors are best for the careers they are interested in pursuing.
In The New Yorker on November 17, Joan Acocella reviewed a few books on parenting--well, overparenting--and I was struck by her take on a book by Carl Honore (Under Pressure: The New Movement Inspiring Us To Slow Down, Trust Our Instincts, and Enjoy Our Kids): "To him, [the self-esteem movement] is a matter of disgust.... According to the research he's read, such ego-pumping confers no benefit. A review of thousands of studies found that high self-esteem in children did not boost grades or career prospects, or even resistance to adult alcoholism. Marano [another author]... is worried that we are producing a nation of wimps, people who won't 'make it.' Honore is worried that the Stepford children produced by overparenting WILL make it, and turn the world into a rude, heartless, boring place." I am still okay with high self-esteem (see my earlier comment), and I am still as annoyed by a sense of entitlement as I ever was. I think it's important to distinguish between the two: high self-esteem can halp a person accomplish things--great things, maybe--whereas a sense of entitlement can make a person lazy and resentful--rude, heartless, and boring. As librarians, we should seek to support the former and not the latter.
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