tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post3369765231487532920..comments2023-08-19T10:04:08.922+01:00Comments on Thought • Art • Representation: The Bread of FeedbackJim Hamlynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-7270341170510067022011-05-04T09:15:10.120+01:002011-05-04T09:15:10.120+01:00http://seansreflectivejournal.blogspot.com/2011/05...http://seansreflectivejournal.blogspot.com/2011/05/application-of-control-theory-to.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-1945283377877813022011-05-03T22:38:47.343+01:002011-05-03T22:38:47.343+01:00“’Praise is also hierarchical...’- is this a probl...<i>“’Praise is also hierarchical...’- is this a problem? Or is praise from a superior possibly more valued?”</i><br /><br />Valued, yes, but valuable, not always eh?<br /><br /><i>“We are after all in a position of power over students, whether we are comfortable with that or not. As we have discussed before, those who do not acknowledge this are prone to set aside the responsibility which should come with their power.”</i><br /><br />Very true and in many ways this has been my thinking about the issue of praise too: but it strikes me that sometimes that lack of acceptance of power manifests itself in an desire for popularity and an associated overuse of praise in order to curry favour. It’s a subtle form of passive-aggressiveness:<br /><br /><i>Given our democratic sensibilities, authority cannot present itself straightforwardly, as authority, coming down from a superior, but must be understood as an impersonal thing that emanates vaguely from all of us. So authority becomes smarmy and passive-aggressive, trying to pass itself off as something co-operative and friendly; as volunteerism. It is always pretending to be in your best interest, in everyone's best interest, as rationality itself." </i> - Matthew Crawford<br /><br />Praise and admonishments may have their uses but I guess we have to be careful that <i>we</i> are not ‘deluded’ about who stands to gain from them.Jim Hamlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488331333061422244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206373238418288113.post-9059922039619703932011-05-03T15:02:50.189+01:002011-05-03T15:02:50.189+01:00"Praise is also hierarchical..."- is thi..."Praise is also hierarchical..."- is this a problem? Or is praise from a superior possibly more valued? We are after all in a position of power over students, whether we are comfortable with that or not. As we have discussed before, those who do not acknowledge this are prone to set aside the responsibility which should come with their power.<br /><br />If for the sake of argument we accept that "Encouragement fosters autonomy, positive self-esteem, a willingness to explore, and acceptance of self and others"- do these things in turn foster learning? Or are we attempting therapy, whose aims these seem to be?<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of encouragement where it's needed, but in factual subjects, some students need a reality check, harsh enough to get through, if not to actively discourage. The last thing they need is further reinforcement of their delusions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com