Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Praise Whores

As I mentioned earlier, I work in a pre-school. During training in my first year, my boss talked about praise whores. Ok, I'm pretty sure that's not what he called him, but it stuck in my mind that way. Praise whores are people who only perform the correct behavior because they want you to tell them what a great job they are doing. For example, one child on the swim team I help out with after each lap asks if she did a good job. This means the person is searching for external rewards instead of intrinsic rewards.


That is one of my biggest worries of becoming a therapist. I don't want people to do things just because other people want them to. I want people to become independent because they want to, not because it is easier for their family or someone else. How do you develop self-worth and desire to become independent within someone? Or do you just not continue therapy?


On another note it is Dead Week at school. Dead week is the week before finals where no assignments or tests should happen. Professors always find ways around the regulations though. It is a strange feeling that I will no longer be an undergraduate. So many of my friends have jobs lined up and adult lives planned. I feel like a weird intermediate adult, since I am still going to be a student, but I am also going to be on my own.


It is good that the United States is increasing the number of people achieving education, but it is really changing some of the definitions in our world. One being what is an independent adult. We talked about it in my Human Development class. It used to be defined by marriage, but now it is determined by a combination of moving away from home, getting a career, and being financially dependent according to my class. I should probably go do work now, since tornados are heading our way and I may be without internet for a while.

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