From the 11-8-96 Daily Report Card:
-> *3   SELF-ESTEEM THEORY:  WHY IT'S FAILING OUR STUDENTS
->    Black children are particularly at risk from self-esteem
-> theory and curricula that dominates many public schools, writes Nina
-> Shokraii, director of outreach programs at the Institute for Justice.
-> "Black children are common targets of self-esteem
-> theory, which in their case often goes by the name of
-> Afrocentrism," she notes.  Yet, all children suffer from a self-
-> esteem theory that denies them the "tools they will need in order to
-> experience true success in school and as adults."
->    Shokraii lambastes self-esteem theory in a policy brief
-> issued by the Center For Equal Opportunity, headed by Linda
-> Chavez.  She explains the two self-esteem types described by
-> psychologists:  earned self-esteem, which people earn through
-> their own accomplishments; and global self-esteem, which refers to a
-> general sense of pride in oneself that is "not grounded in a
-> particular skill or achievement."
->    Shokraii:  "The fundamental difference between earned self-
-> esteem and global self-esteem rests on their relationships to
-> academic achievement."  Under earned self-esteem theory, academic
-> achievement comes first, self-esteem follows.  However, those who
-> purport the importance of global self-esteem contend that
-> achievement come first, followed by self-esteem.  The later
-> theory is dominant in schools nationwide, according to Shokraii, and
-> is a primary reason why student achievement is low.
->    Shokraii points to research conducted by Harold Stevenson
-> adn James Stigler.  The psychologists examined academic skill
-> levels of elementary school students in Japan, Taiwan, China, and the
-> U.S.  According to their study, Asian students outperformed their
-> American counterparts; however, U.S. students "exhibited a
-> significantly higher self-evaluation of their academic prowess
-> than their foreign peers," writes Shokraii.  She added:  "In
-> other words, they combined a lousy performance with a high sense of
-> self-esteem."  (See DRC 12/4/92 for a report on the
-> Stevenson/Stigler cross-national studies).
->    Stevenson and Stigler also found that American teachers
-> focus more on sensitivity to student egos, "whereas Asians
-> concentrate on their ability to explain things clearly," writes
-> Shokraii.  Another difference:  American teachers rarely exposed a
-> student's poor performance, while Asian teachers view mistakes "as an
-> index of what remains to be learned through persistence
-> and increased effort," she writes.
->    Shokraii asserts that the emphasis on global self-esteem
-> theory in American classroom particularly harms minority
-> children.  "From lower standards to a reduced emphasis on tests,
-> minorities are constantly told that their egos are somehow more
-> fragile and thus are somehow different from the rest of American,
-> even though they have the most to gain from traditional ways of
-> teaching."  She lauds several traditional schools that serve
-> disadvantaged, black children, including:  Booker T. Washington
-> (Atlanta), Xavier Prep (New Orleans), P.S. 91 (Brooklyn), and
-> Dunbar (Washington).  "African-Americans excel at these schools
-> because they are expected to strive high and achieve," she
-> writes.   Shokraii also links inflated self-esteem with juvenile
-> crime and violence.  She points to a recent study by
-> psychologists Roy Baumeister, Joseph Boden adn Laura Smart, which
-> found that "first [the notion that low-self-esteem leads to high
-> crime rates among blacks] does not fit the transient shifts in
-> the crime rate among African Americans, which is now reading its
-> highest levels as slavery recedes farther and farther into the
-> background.  Second, self-esteem levels among African Americans are
-> now equal to, or higher than, the self-esteem levels of
-> whites.  Third, it is far from certain that slaves had a low
-> self-esteem."
->    Shokraii concludes that "it is time to stop touting the
-> importance of self-esteem and start providing students with the
-> elements real self-esteem is made of."  She urges schools to
-> return to high standards and expectations, reclaim back-to-basics
-> teaching and encourage accountability among students, without
-> neglecting each child's needs and concerns as individuals.
->    She suggests a three-part strategy:  build the relationship
-> between a teacher or parent and a child on respect for the
-> child's inborn strengths; help the child set goals and then link
-> sustained effort with success; and examine the values you are
-> promoting, because self-esteem is grounded on what a person
-> values.
->    However, the most important "remedy" for Shokraii is to
-> reintroduce parents in the education of their children.  "Parents
-> supersede teachers at building earned elf-esteem in their
-> children through the special caring and positive/negative
-> reinforcement that can only come with individualized interaction at
-> home."
->    Copes of the Policy Brief are available free-of-charge by
-> contacting the Center for Equal Opportunity ; 815 Fifteenth
-> Street NW; Suite 928; Washington, D.C.  20001; 202/639-0803.  A
-> summary of the policy brief is available at the Center's web
-> site:  http:\\www.ceousa.org.
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