                                                              
| 1987 - California Created a Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem |
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| Written by Maryellen Rogusky |
| Thursday, 05 January 2006 03:29 |
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Low self-esteem was identified as the “’root cause’ of the nation’s social problems” (Ravitch, 2000, p. 428). Yet, by the 1990s, self-esteem was mired in criticism as the outcome of doing good things, not the start of how one motivates children to do good things. People Involved: John Vasconcellos, California politician Comments: Despite the call for schools to take responsibility for raising students’ self-esteem, educators could not easily measure self-esteem. "In 1998, social scientists challenged and debunked self-esteem promoters that playground bullies, members of street gangs, and master race ideologues often think very highly of themselves. Thoses who have a grandiose self-image are likely to respond aggressively to criticism" (Ravitch, 2000, p. 429). References: Ravitch, D. (2000). Left Back: A Century of Battles over school reform. New York: Simon & Schuster. |