Real Self-Esteem

I have been reading a fascinating book--50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School--by Charles J. Sykes.  Rule #2 says:  The real world won't care as much as your school does about your self-esteem.  It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

I remember having a discussion with Norm Hassett, a colleague at Realms of Inquiry, about this topic.  He felt that the best way for students to get self-esteem was to do quality work.  The longer I live the more convinced I am that he was right. 

Sykes states that the research of Christina Hoff Sommers and Sally Satel note in their book One Nation Under Therapy, "High school dropout, shoplifters, burglars, car thieves, and even murderers are just as likely to have high self-esteem as Rhodes Scholars or winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor." 

Therefore, our focus on Dr. Glasser's quality school will be more beneficial to our Esperanza scholars than a focus on building self-esteem activities.