Alfie Kohn's essay "Five Reasons to Stop Saying 'Good Job'"

This essay was a very interesting read. Since I have no children of my own--at least none that are human--I always find child rearing techniques to be completely foreign to me. While reading Alfie Kohn's essay I tried to imagine my personality and tried to come up with an idea of what would I do in this situation. My answer is simply, "I have no clue what I would do!" Good thing I don't have children to damage.

I would have never considered that saying "Good Job!" on a regular basis would have any ill effects on a child. I actually thought the opposite. I was under the impression that the more positive reinforcement you gave your child, the better. I mean, it's the kids that never got praised that turn into serial killers, right? Well maybe that is a little over simplifying things. I am sure there are children that never get praised and grow up in a toxic environment that turn out to be perfectly good adults. I am also sure that there is a sweet old lady somewhere who raised a boy in a loving environment that turned into a less than upstanding man. So with those perceptions, I guess it is possible that dishing out constant praise could cause problems in the emotional development of a child.

Kohn's point that constant praise can cause children to become praise junkies was such an eye opener for me. I have many small children in my family and it makes total sense that if they are overly praised for EVERY THING THEY DO it would prompt them to become addicted to the praise and being unable to function without it. This article convinces me on the point that without this constant praise, the child may grow up to be a mediocre adult and unable to function without constant praise. "Oh honey, what a GOOD JOB putting the toilet seat down after you pee" or "Good Job feeding the baby when she was hungry" are not things you should really have to say to your husband. I can see how if a man had been showered with constant praise as a child could grow up to be without the drive to do things just because they are the correct thing to do. Not just men. Women can also fall prey to this syndrome. Telling a little girl that she is pretty over and over could go beyond giving her confidence and create a conceited monster who has no sense of reality.

This essay was presented in Parents Magazine. That is a perfect place to present these views presenting a perfect kairos appeal. The author, Alfie Kohn is not only a writer, he is also an educator. Since he is in a position to see children every day and is able to observe the way that act, interact and respond to various stimuli as well as the absence of stimuli. These credentials make an effective ethos appeal. The manner in which this article presents the five reasons why to stop saying "Good Job" and the reasons supporting each reason make an impressive logos appeal.

Of course there are two sides to every story. No one knows for sure if saying "good job" excessively really harms a child. It can be argued that lack of recognition for accomplishments would negatively affect a child's sense of development.

Response to LaDonna's unit one experience

LaDonna I too had trouble finding scholarly articles. I actually had a hard time settling on a topic to begin with. I decided to go with a political/social issue. Once I decided to do that, I waffled (is that an actual word or something I made up?) back and forth on what to write about. I think in general I am not moved by much. I know there is a word for that, but I can't think of it now. The opposite of empathetic. Umm, well I am sure I will come up with it at some point. Anyway, I digress.

LaDonna's information about emissions and the IPCC were very interesting. I have always just taken assumed that man made emissions were the prime factor in the increase of global warming. I remember in the 90's while in Junior high we were all told to not use aerosol hairspray. I know that is lame, but at the time that was the worst thing you could have told me! Sad, I know. But to tell a 13 year old she can't use aerosol hairspray was the same as telling me I was going to have to sew my own clothes out of potato sacks! So I just assumed that all of the harmful man-made emissions were what was causing all global warming.

It is incredibly interesting to me that these findings are NOT based on scientific fact! Wow. Maybe I should question more and believe less. I think LaDonna's blog will lead me to do more research on the topic.

response to writing rhetorical analysis

I can honestly say that this has been the hardest assignment of my entire college career. Not that my time in college has been significant. Nevertheless, this is a doozy. Maybe I am over thinking it. Maybe I just don't get it. I am not entirely sure I did it correctly. But it's done and I am sure the very kind Julie will let me know if I did it correctly or not. This assignment actually had (has?) me considering dropping the class and dropping out of college alltogether.

First off, what in the heck is a rhetorical analysis? Yes I read the chapters. I did extensive research online and asked all of my friends. Some friends looked at me like I was on drugs, not knowing what the heck I was talking about. But some did their best to explain it to me. "It's a non-judgmental analysis of a story or article." What? Who am I to judge anything?? Oh right, a college student.

I have read the chapters so many times that I know it better than I know my wedding vows. Okay, that is not a fair comparision, because I have no idea what I said on my wedding day.....to anyone. But you get the picture, I read it. A lot.

So ok, let's find some articles about something political or socially controversial. All the things I have read say to choose something you care deeply about. Oh crap. That is a problem. Because I don't care about anything. That may be a little of an exaggeration, I care about things. But I don't care deeply enough to stand out on the street corner yelling about it, so how can I pick something to analyze if it needs to be something I care about.

Then it came to me while laying in bed. Literally. My pug Siu Mai came over to me and laid her precious face on my cheek and fell asleep. I love pugs. I especially love my pugs. Siu Mai the pug was rescued from a puppy mill auction and it gives my physical pain to think of all of the pain and suffering that she had to endure before being rescued by someone that I feel is equivilent to her guardian angel. And that is how I found my topic and identified what I care enough about to try to do something to stop it.

Unit one

In writing my rhetorical analysis, I chose an issue that is currently getting lots of press. Puppy Mills. It astounds me that there are still people out there that don't bother to think about where that cute little puppy in the window of the pet store came from. Oh sure, the pet store employee assures their customers that all of these puppies come from responsible breeders that do it for the love of the breed. Um, NOT! Seriously, no responsible breeder would EVER sell their puppies to a pet store.

So let's see....who are the culprits in this nasty industry.

First off, the people who run puppy mills. Oklahoma is number 2 in the number of puppy mills within it's borders. Wow, #2. The "honor" of first place is Missouri. A puppy mill is an absolute horrible place. Not just a little dirty, or a little drafty. Animals are kept in small wire cages, often stacked on top of each other, and never taken out. They eat, poop and live in these tiny cages. I personally have seen the effect of this cage stacking. One smooth fox terrier puppy that was rescued from a puppy mill is missing toes because his paw was stuck in the wire and the dog below him chewed off his toes. Don't believe me? It happened. It happens all the time. The dogs are given no medical treatment, are hardly fed or watered, are given no exercise and their only contact with people is when they breed. The females are bred every single opportunity. In my opinion, (and that is the only one that really counts on a blog, right?) these people are scum and deserve physical punishment for this crime against nature.

Second, the pet stores. Stupid pet stores. Enough said.

Third, and sadly the driving force behind the other two are the people that walk into a pet store and walk out with a dog they bought for little Susie's birthday. I am not talking about adoption fairs. I am talking about the pet stores that keep the dogs in little cages with windows day after day waiting for someone to pay big bucks to take them home. I am sure the consumers are not active participants in this horrific crime, but still responsible for the mistreatment of man's best friend.