No...You ARE Wrong

When did it become taboo to tell a child that they were wrong...when they were wrong?? Why is there all of this "don't dent their self-esteem" or "you could embarrass them" junk going around?! If I am wrong, tell me. I learn. If you sugar coat all of my mistakes, I don't think I'm really doing anything that needs correcting so I will continue doing it.

If the above is true, why should we expect anything less out of kids. These days, most are NEVER told they are wrong, always walk with a sense of entitlement, and don't know the meaning of punishment. Modify behavior. Redirect. No consequences, just praise. Are you kidding me?! How did whole generations before us (and including most of us) turn out just fine while being raised on butt beatings, consequences up the wall, and a stern "NO" when we needed it? We wonder why there are "Don't try Meth" signs running down the freeway. We wonder why some kids' behavior is simply horrendous.

There are parents like this so you can only fault the child for so long, but if there is one thing that I try to push is to not fear a wrong answer. It's how you learn! I lose count of how many times I say "Do you know how many times Mrs Bennett is wrong?!" to my kids. The shocked look on their faces never fade. Are they that surprised to see an adult admit a shortcoming?? Wow, people, we need to work on this. Kids MUST not fear mistakes or wrong answers. Half the time they are too scared of a wrong answer that they don't even try for a right one. They are too scared to participate in a discussion because they don't want to say the "wrong" thing. I miss the days of Einstein quotes all over the place. At least that dude knew how to take failure in stride.

Call me a monster...a horrible teacher...whatever...but if your kid ends up in my room and answers with a wrong answer, I will tell them it's wrong. Of course, I'm not Satan nor will I pounce down on them like a lineman, but I also won't sweet-as-pie say "Wellllll, what if we looked at it like this..." because I'm sorry. You're wrong.

I can't even imagine the number of times I've been told I was doing something wrong. If a "bajillion" is a real number somewhere, I'm sure it's near that. But you know what? I learned a lot along the way.