Students may never their own value if they rely on others to provide them with self esteem.
Sticker charts. Inflated grades. Grades for completion rather than correctness. No grades at all.
No wonder Americans have increased difficulty with delayed gratification. Having been raised in a time of plenty, students frequently expect immediate "payback" for any exerted effort, no matter how poor the product. For example, in the college courses that I teach it is the rare student who asks questions about how to do better on future assignments. Instead, it not uncommon for my adult students to respond to even an "A-" or "B" essay grade with an incredulous, "But I worked really hard on this paper." I have even had students declare that they didn't deserve a "B" grade because they have never received one before.
Roots of the problem can be found in elementary classrooms across the country where the good intentions of sticker charts and other "token economies" often run amuck. While the practice of providing rewards is admirable, it can also be problematic if rewards are given with no expectation for students to work toward goals. Teachers may inadvertently be teaching students to rely on external rewards rather than the internal satisfaction of learning. Unearned or hasty rewards will only teach students to have impatience with difficult subjcts, a reluctance to complete independent assignments, and a misunderstanding of success. Likewise, students who have never been challenged to reach for knowledge may never understand the satisfaction of its attainment.
Instant gratification, or the presenting of rewards for little effort, may ultimately be the downfall of the strongest element of American dream -- the idea that, with hard work and perseverance, individuals can achieve almost anything. The achievements of our self-made forefathers -- Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and George Washington come to mind -- prove the value of diligence and delayed gratification.
