Back To School Night Controversy: To Praise or not to Praise

Mrs. Griffee strikes just the right note between acknowledgment of effort and appreciation of accomplishment.

During Back to School Night, I alarmed my colleagues by suggesting to parents that praise can be a disincentive for children and identify a peer as a low performer. That's true and has been proven in study after study.

Conversely, psychologists refer to John Gottman's Magic Ratio of positive and negative interactions (5:1) as the measurement necessary to build and preserve a child's positive self-image and out-look. The Magic Ratio was developed during research of marital relationships and new studies are showing a similar connection to parent child relationships.

How do we create those 5 positive interactions to outweigh a corrective or critical exchange without praise? Isn't praise a natural extension of regard? How can that be bad?

Of course, the conundrum is resolved when we examine the research more closely. And there is a lot of research! The idea of pointed praise isn't new and it's been the ideal at Monica Ros for a long time. My faculty, however, worried that I left you without a fully-formed idea of what the research shows and with lots of room for misunderstanding. For an overview of research and suggested practices, click here.

The big consideration is the type of praise offered. Praise which considers effort and strategy has a positive impact on self-perception and academic effort. It encourages a growth mindset allowing a child to try and fail and try again with the understanding that effort will lead to success. Praise that focuses on natural talents "You're so smart," being the biggest offender, allows children to conclude that nothing they can do will change their "smartness". Then, when they run up against a difficulty (which everyone does) they can only conclude that they are not smart and not able to be successful. Check out this article from Reed College professor Zach Dundas, The Perils of Praise; you'll recognize the scenarios and pitfalls described.

One of the most-respected educational psychologists, Carol Dweck, has written extensively on this topic. Rather watch a video? Here's an interview of Po Bronson who, with Ashley Merrymen, wrote Nurture Shock, the most interesting and influential books on parenting in a generation.

Investigate praise. You'll like the way you learn! And, my colleagues can rest easy.

Slippery Slopes

Third Graders continue their Monica Ros scientific odyssey with snail studies. Javi and Ben watch their snail Old McGrubb as he explores his new environment. The slimy friends help the third graders gain new insights into the natural world, hone their observation skills, and practice technical writing skills. Technical writing skills are new components of the Common Core State Standards national curriculum, but an old tradition for Monica Ros. Coming up: Snail Olympics. Excitement will mount as students use different types of spacial and temporal measurements (distance and time) to analyze the behavior of their terrestrial pulmonate gastropod visitors.

First Grade: A Balancing Act

Mrs. Ricasata and her first graders consider mass.

A new first grader is a very recent kindergartner. A kindergartner with a new desk! Mrs. Ricasata and Ms. Mico keep their class happy and calm with lots of opportunities to keep moving. During one recent lesson considering mass, the class made predictions regarding weight and then tested their theories with a scale. The animated conversation fell silent as the truth was revealed with several students celebrating their predictions with a quick whirl-around before getting back to business.

Alumni News

Lots of Monica Roser's are off to college: Will is starting at UCSB, Zane's at The University of LaVerne, Ashley's at Stanford, Hutton's off to the University of Richmond, Grady has gone to Trinity, Hannah's taking a gap year. Let us know where yours is! Lucas Cesena, a junior at Thacher, just made his first touchdown in the season-opener football game. Class of '08 Alden Del Vecchio, Evan Jackson, Ryan Jackson, Jordan Perry, and Nolan Vyhnal, class of '08, are all new freshmen at Thacher. Share your news!

Fiesta FAQ's

Thank You Fiesta Sponsors!

Quirk Law Firm, Ojai Baby, Hahn and Chris Platt, Tania and Jim Kirchner, Friend's Ranch, Robin Williams, Greg and Penny Herring, The McDowell Family, The Jakeberghs, The Schafer Family. More to come?

Alumni Volunteers

We love to have our Alumni come back and enjoy Fiesta with us. All alumni are invited to take part in this big volunteer effort.

4th, 5th or 6th graders can buy an activity band, join in the fun, and in exchange for an hour volunteer shift, will receive a treat ticket for the snack bar.

Alumni in 7th grade or older will be given a volunteer bracelet at no charge and a ticket for dinner.

Please let us know if you are coming and if you want to work at a particular station.

Thank for your help!

Maestra Mico y su Clase de Espanol

Say "HI!" to

Ms. Mico and MR. O!

We are happy to welcome Anna Mico and Bill Omanseik to Monica Ros. Anna is a native Spanish speaker with one foot in Spain thanks to her father. Her interest in early education led her to Monica Ros after time spent tending orchards, gardens and bees.

Mr. O continues his coaching and assistant athletic

director duties at The Thacher School while teaching PE down the hill at Monica Ros. He is also a German scholar.

Mr. O and the first graders.

Seen And Heard

"What's a Dang?"

Green Room students amused their teachers (yet, again!) when they threw out this question during a quiet chat at the table. Even when you think they aren't listening, they are!

Student Council

At this week's student council meeting, student's discussed service projects for school and for our larger community. One group decided that they would like to make lunch for the police. After discussing menu options, one child suggested that they call the station and ask what they wanted. Another quipped, "Don't call 911! That's just for emergencies."

"What Did You Do Today?" "Rode a bike!"

For years, generations, even, young students have summed up their school day at Monica Ros with this simple statement. Some parents find this routine debriefing unsatisfactory! But when we understand that students riding trikes are developing and strengthening their proprioceptive system; we must forgive their pedal mania. Right: Davin settles his velocipede for a moment to benefit posterity.

Want to know more? Next time!

School starts with smiles and surprises!

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