In an AP article entitled “Study: College Students More Narcissistic”, it was revealed that a group of five psychologists headed by Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University have been conducting a study on Narcissism in our colleges since 1982.
In this study they asked college students to fill out a Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). For the past 25 years. What thy found was the number of students that can be considered narcissistic has risen by 30 percent in the time of the study and two thirds of students now have above average scores.
The group traced the cause of the rise back to the self-esteem movement. This of coarse is where a teacher stands in front of the room and tells the kids they are special and the teacher proves it by giving the students grades they didn’t earn. More recently schools are now abandoning red pens in favor of purple pens to save the children from the horrible fate of seeing an “F” written in the tyrannical color. But that’s a different post.
This exercise was meant to build self-esteem and character in a nice harmless atmosphere, instead it has caused the subjects of this little experiment to become narcissistic.
Co-Author Dr. W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia stated that narcissism can help with confidence however, he also pointed out that narcissism can also create a whole host of other problems. Both Dr. Campbell and Professor Twenge pointed out that Narcissism can cause:
Breakdowns in close relationships
High risk of infidelity
Lack of emotional warmth
Dishonesty
Over-control and violent behavior
Lack of Empathy
Aggressive reaction to criticism
Favoritism of self-promotion over helping others
Professor Campbell did offer a solution to the problem which some may consider to be politically incorrect (which is just fine with me). The solution is more authoritative parenting and less indulgence.
This solution makes perfect sense. The only thing that bothers me is that a college professor is saying it as if we wouldn’t know this. May be what is more disturbing is that most of us don’t know. Thus the reason for this blog … which nobody reads … yet … because, I’m special …
This goes to show you that if you try to make nature work in a way it was not intended, you will usually get results that you never expected. For example, you saw in this news story of how the “teaching” of self esteem and character did not lead to self esteem or character. It led to their alter-ego, Narcissism.
Self esteem can not be taught, it can only be earned. And Character can’t be taught either, it can only be developed through the successful acquisition of self esteem.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Letter from an American Hero
“It is not in the still calm of life or the repose of a pacific station that grate characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant wake into life and form the character of the hero and statesman.”
This statement was written by a little known American hero. Her name was Abigail Adams. If the name sounds familiar, it should. She was the wife of John Adams, our second president and the mother of John Quincy Adams, our sixth president. She wrote this statement in a letter to her son.
John Adams had to go to France during the Revolutionary War to work out a treaty with the French. He was to go with another great American hero, Benjamin Franklin. Because Mr. Franklin was going, Abigail and her husband realized that this was an extraordinary opportunity for their son.
John Adams and Abigail Adams both grew up in very poor farming families and nether had much of an education. When John Quincy arrived on the scene, they decided that he would be highly educated. So, they took every opportunity they could to educate their young son. And an opportunity had just arisen in the form of Benjamin Franklin.
On the voyage over to France and on the way back there would be lots of down time and while in France there would be educational opportunities as well. Abigail and John knew that if their son could spend time with Benjamin Franklin while he did his experiments during the down times as well as witness treaty negotiations, that would be a much better education then he could get in any school. So, they decided that it was important for John Quincy to go with his father.
The trip over would be very dangerous. The voyage would take place in the winter time when the seas where at there worst. On top of that, they would have to run an English blockade. Even if they where able to run the blockade, surely the English would be looking for them and trying to stop them before they got to France. John Quincy knew all of this and was not very happy about it.
John Quincy did not want to go, but they knew that this experience of dealing with these difficulties would help him to grow in ways that he could not even fathom.
So as a part of convincing John Quincy to go along with the plan his mother wrote the letter with the above statement in it.
This statement is a very powerful one, especially in this day and age. I believe it is so powerful because we lost the knowledge that true intelligence comes from solving problems and "contending with difficulties". And self-esteem can not be taught, it is earned.
Political Correctness is one of my biggest pet peeves. I believe that Political Correctness is robbing us of our freedom as well as a good education. We spend so much time worrying about our children's feelings that we are forgetting to teach them. And we are spending so much time trying to make our children's lives antiseptic of pain and disappointment that we don't realize we're also taking away a chance for them to develop real character.
Character is so very important for our children to have and if we raze an entire generation without character it makes me worry about the future of, not just our nation, but our society.
I hope we can take a lesson form the Adams' and remember where real intelligence comes from.
In future blogs I will be writing more about the poison known as Political Correctness because one can not begin to be motivated or inspired without first developing character. And one can not develop character without overcoming the pain of disappointment and failure.
This statement was written by a little known American hero. Her name was Abigail Adams. If the name sounds familiar, it should. She was the wife of John Adams, our second president and the mother of John Quincy Adams, our sixth president. She wrote this statement in a letter to her son.
John Adams had to go to France during the Revolutionary War to work out a treaty with the French. He was to go with another great American hero, Benjamin Franklin. Because Mr. Franklin was going, Abigail and her husband realized that this was an extraordinary opportunity for their son.
John Adams and Abigail Adams both grew up in very poor farming families and nether had much of an education. When John Quincy arrived on the scene, they decided that he would be highly educated. So, they took every opportunity they could to educate their young son. And an opportunity had just arisen in the form of Benjamin Franklin.
On the voyage over to France and on the way back there would be lots of down time and while in France there would be educational opportunities as well. Abigail and John knew that if their son could spend time with Benjamin Franklin while he did his experiments during the down times as well as witness treaty negotiations, that would be a much better education then he could get in any school. So, they decided that it was important for John Quincy to go with his father.
The trip over would be very dangerous. The voyage would take place in the winter time when the seas where at there worst. On top of that, they would have to run an English blockade. Even if they where able to run the blockade, surely the English would be looking for them and trying to stop them before they got to France. John Quincy knew all of this and was not very happy about it.
John Quincy did not want to go, but they knew that this experience of dealing with these difficulties would help him to grow in ways that he could not even fathom.
So as a part of convincing John Quincy to go along with the plan his mother wrote the letter with the above statement in it.
This statement is a very powerful one, especially in this day and age. I believe it is so powerful because we lost the knowledge that true intelligence comes from solving problems and "contending with difficulties". And self-esteem can not be taught, it is earned.
Political Correctness is one of my biggest pet peeves. I believe that Political Correctness is robbing us of our freedom as well as a good education. We spend so much time worrying about our children's feelings that we are forgetting to teach them. And we are spending so much time trying to make our children's lives antiseptic of pain and disappointment that we don't realize we're also taking away a chance for them to develop real character.
Character is so very important for our children to have and if we raze an entire generation without character it makes me worry about the future of, not just our nation, but our society.
I hope we can take a lesson form the Adams' and remember where real intelligence comes from.
In future blogs I will be writing more about the poison known as Political Correctness because one can not begin to be motivated or inspired without first developing character. And one can not develop character without overcoming the pain of disappointment and failure.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Welcome to my "Little Engine Blog".
Welcome!
I named this blog after my favorite childhood story, "The Little Engine That Could", because I think my life has been a lot like that little engine's struggle. I've been struggling up hill most of my life.
First of all I was born into a poor family. I can't say that we where in poverty but we where pretty close. My parents never owned a car and they never owned their own home. I also had a learning problem that was never officially diagnosed; however, I always suspected it was a form of dyslexia.
The latter caused me most of my problems in school. I failed and repeated first and Third grades and came very close to repeating sixth grade as well. In Tenth grade, seriously considered dropping out of school. Considering most of my problems throughout school, most people probably wouldn't have blamed me for giving up, but I was not in a family like most. My family had a lot of faith in me, far more faith then I had in myself. As a result, I stayed in school and kept saying "I think I can, I think I can".
It's a good thing too, because as it turned out eleventh and twelfth grades turned out to be the easiest years in school. I was able to pick up momentum and speed before I hit the brick wall called U.S. Navy "A" School.
I graduated second ... from last in my class and went on to the fleet where I landed on a ship with a lousy workshop supervisor. I learned next to nothing under him, but I did have some time to work on my work ethic and character with different kinds of physically challenging ship board work.
When I got out of the Navy, I went back to school. I struggled my way through school. As in high school, I began to think seriously about quitting but my girlfriend, my future wife, wouldn't let me give up on myself either. Like my family, she too had far more faith in me then I had in myself. Looking back, especially to that point in my life, I realize that I owe my wife my life, because it was her belief in me that gave me one.
After I got out of school, I went to work with an engineering firm, who quickly showed me how much I have to learn about engineering. At one point I was told I had three months to catch up on what I needed to learn or I would be canned. This was easily one of the most depressing points in my life. I was being rejected from the career I had been preparing for since high school.
I really felt like all my dreams where about to end. I had already been working hard to learn the job and here I was at the edge of a cataclysmic disaster.
I spent the next three months doubling my efforts and looking for another job. But two things happened. My wife got pregnant and my boss called me into the conference room again, this time to tell me that he was pleased with my progress.
That is where I am today. I'm not working with the same firm, but I am with a firm that I like very much and earning the money I believe I deserve.
I'm here because of my wife, my family and a children's story that was read to me over and over again many years ago.
I believe I am going to have fun writing these blogs and I hope someone will read them and be inspired to keep on saying to themselves "I know I can, I know I can".
I named this blog after my favorite childhood story, "The Little Engine That Could", because I think my life has been a lot like that little engine's struggle. I've been struggling up hill most of my life.
First of all I was born into a poor family. I can't say that we where in poverty but we where pretty close. My parents never owned a car and they never owned their own home. I also had a learning problem that was never officially diagnosed; however, I always suspected it was a form of dyslexia.
The latter caused me most of my problems in school. I failed and repeated first and Third grades and came very close to repeating sixth grade as well. In Tenth grade, seriously considered dropping out of school. Considering most of my problems throughout school, most people probably wouldn't have blamed me for giving up, but I was not in a family like most. My family had a lot of faith in me, far more faith then I had in myself. As a result, I stayed in school and kept saying "I think I can, I think I can".
It's a good thing too, because as it turned out eleventh and twelfth grades turned out to be the easiest years in school. I was able to pick up momentum and speed before I hit the brick wall called U.S. Navy "A" School.
I graduated second ... from last in my class and went on to the fleet where I landed on a ship with a lousy workshop supervisor. I learned next to nothing under him, but I did have some time to work on my work ethic and character with different kinds of physically challenging ship board work.
When I got out of the Navy, I went back to school. I struggled my way through school. As in high school, I began to think seriously about quitting but my girlfriend, my future wife, wouldn't let me give up on myself either. Like my family, she too had far more faith in me then I had in myself. Looking back, especially to that point in my life, I realize that I owe my wife my life, because it was her belief in me that gave me one.
After I got out of school, I went to work with an engineering firm, who quickly showed me how much I have to learn about engineering. At one point I was told I had three months to catch up on what I needed to learn or I would be canned. This was easily one of the most depressing points in my life. I was being rejected from the career I had been preparing for since high school.
I really felt like all my dreams where about to end. I had already been working hard to learn the job and here I was at the edge of a cataclysmic disaster.
I spent the next three months doubling my efforts and looking for another job. But two things happened. My wife got pregnant and my boss called me into the conference room again, this time to tell me that he was pleased with my progress.
That is where I am today. I'm not working with the same firm, but I am with a firm that I like very much and earning the money I believe I deserve.
I'm here because of my wife, my family and a children's story that was read to me over and over again many years ago.
I believe I am going to have fun writing these blogs and I hope someone will read them and be inspired to keep on saying to themselves "I know I can, I know I can".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)