tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post6683688143589963639..comments2024-03-29T01:07:30.224-07:00Comments on Had Enough Therapy?: HeroesStuart Schneidermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-65291731024521803332011-10-14T04:25:14.736-07:002011-10-14T04:25:14.736-07:00To succeed at competition requires discipline, res...To succeed at competition requires discipline, respect for the rules, hard work, training, and sportsmanship... among other character traits. Success does breed humility since the people who are most successful tend to be most humble about their success. Others who do not enjoy success tend to inflate their self-esteem, to the detriment of their character.Stuart Schneidermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-11544071075474843612011-10-13T19:56:35.036-07:002011-10-13T19:56:35.036-07:00I have to say I disagree with your opinion here wh...I have to say I disagree with your opinion here where you state that a child learns good character by competing, and not through "therapy" or "learning about yourself, by understanding why you have bad character or by learning that you can change your character by changing the way you think."<br /><br />A competitive child might learn discipline, but will not necessarily learn character. Character also involves humility, knowing one's limits, making room for the other, self-sacrifice, independent thinking in the face of mass persuasion--and a host of other traits one does NOT learn by getting good grades or winning a sports meet.<br /><br />One can have good character and not be a good student or athlete. Conversely, one can be a great student or star baseball player and be self-absorbed, materialistic, and a follower.<br /><br />Socrates said "a life unexamined is not worth living." Just because today's understanding of examination of one's life is in a therapeutic vein, that does not mean self-examination should be ignored; in fact, that is the beginning of development of good character.Rlebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11190255445783235572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-36081922011384009872011-09-20T22:57:10.383-07:002011-09-20T22:57:10.383-07:00Heroes... My heroes are men like PW, Royal Marine...Heroes... My heroes are men like PW, Royal Marines, who played a bagpipe onto the beach of WWII Philippines, slung his pipes, unslung his rifle and fought. My father, who worked in nuclear weapons for 30 years and kindly caught insects in the house to release them outside. And women like my wife who bore me a daughter and a son cheerfully, while nurturing the best in each of us.<br /><br />What do they have in common? A hard, judgmental protection of good and kindness. Making a place for kindness in this world is hard, uncompromising work. Sometimes it requires unkindness and even great violence.<br /><br />Avoiding pain and conflict and eschewing violence leads to great unkindness in time. Kindness does not beget kindness in this fallen world. It is not a gift, it's wrested from the unkind. The kids in your article will learn that, but not all will survive the lesson learned too late. That is unkind of their teachers.<br /><br />Here's to the heroes who are tough enough to make it safe to be kind to each other!<br /><br />--GrayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-55621789052009717272011-09-20T10:43:06.532-07:002011-09-20T10:43:06.532-07:00For those who are their own worst critic, the grea...For those who are their own worst critic, the greatest competition can be with themselves.<br />This can be a good thing.LordSomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483452672640797537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-3433296105251627262011-09-20T07:58:17.766-07:002011-09-20T07:58:17.766-07:00True enough, character is built by knowing how to ...True enough, character is built by knowing how to deal with failure. Yet, you can only fail if you are engaged in competition. And where competition pushes you to work hard and to excel.<br /><br />I realize that people believe that the school system is trying too hard to teach children how to memorize, but children can certainly compete at memorization. And obedience is not necessarily a bad thing, especially for those schools-- of which there are too many-- where there is none.<br /><br />Most self-esteemist schools do not much care about teaching children to compete because they want children to be creative free spirits, brimming with confidence regardless of whether or not the results confirm their own self-judgment.<br /><br />I am hoping that Robert (Wahrheit) is right about the reaction to the Times piece. I would be interested in hearing about the reaction from the parents who are spending a fortune to send their children to a private school that is in the business of deforming their character.Stuart Schneidermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12784043736879991769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-23438917304501552922011-09-20T06:44:17.461-07:002011-09-20T06:44:17.461-07:00You have to develop psycholigical resilience by be...You have to develop psycholigical resilience by being stretched beyond just slightly beyond where you are now.<br /><br />Competition has to be tempered by hard rules and some sense that you are working on some kind of internal development, otherwise you are just out to destroy your competition in a form of total war.<br /><br />I dislike intellectual competition because under extreme stress, I do not do well at all. The goal can't be "to win" otherwise the ends "winning" end up justifying the breaking of all underlying rules to achieve the brass ring.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11126071014909954387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-33397968792638168402011-09-19T20:53:13.046-07:002011-09-19T20:53:13.046-07:00I think you are missing the point about this artic...I think you are missing the point about this article. Look at the title, the character is build by failures. <br />I also think this is what is wrong with the school system: the system is teaching kids how to obey and memorize, not how to succeed is life. <br />Having good character traits helps one to overcome obstacles in life.Valonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-43095329687070478612011-09-19T16:51:48.820-07:002011-09-19T16:51:48.820-07:00I hear from my sources that this article is the bu...I hear from my sources that this article is the buzz at a whole lot of political offices today, and since the "big seven" traits of success can be learned, taught, and apply to all races, creeds and colors at all times and places, AND since this was published by the NYT, it has left the liberal wing in a panic. Because this would seem to leave the PC program for education in the dustbin of history. This obviously should be immediately integrated into every school in the country, if we Really Care about the Children.<br /><br />I eagerly await the letters to the editor for some attempted put down...Robert Pearsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357942424904415208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078379512095504946.post-61588712570906736602011-09-19T15:07:39.009-07:002011-09-19T15:07:39.009-07:00In Narnia, Lucy asks if Aslan the lion is safe.
&...In Narnia, Lucy asks if Aslan the lion is safe.<br /><br />"'Safe!" replies Mr Beaver. "Of course he's not safe!' replied Beaver. 'But he's good."David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.com