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People of a certain age will recall the only-in-California New Age self-esteem movement championed by then-Assemblyman John Vasconcellos and lampooned in the Doonesbury comic strip. If only children had better self-esteem, people would be saved from lives of poverty, ignorance and misery, or so the caricature went.
Now the Washington Post has reported on research that implies that old self-esteem concepts are so 1980s. But the reality of the self-esteem movement was exaggerated back then, as has been its demise.
As it became popularized, self-esteem had its New Age elements. But Vasconcellos employed hard-nosed politicking to win a signature for his legislation creating a self-esteem commission from then-Gov. George Deukmejian, who was hardly a touchy-feely guy.
The commission noted that families and schools are vital to improving feelings of self-worth and reducing social problems. And there was nothing wrong with the commission's stated definition of self-esteem: "Appreciating my own worth and importance and having the character to be accountable for myself and to act responsibly toward others."
But parents and teachers also understand the power of praise for actual achievement, as opposed to showing up. Kids know that a certificate for mere participation is not worth the paper it's printed on. The point is not that self-esteem is unimportant. Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck's research shows that well-focused praise is key to a child's development.
