This is the problem with the “self-esteem at all costs” message. Self-esteem should be earned. I find that parents today, at least those in a high socioeconomic

This is the problem with the “self-esteem at all costs” message. Self-esteem should be earned. I find that parents today, at least those in a high socioeconomic bracket, never want to say anything critical of their children. Really? I've noticed this phenomenon in the exact opposite end of the socioeconimic spectrum. I've heard the same story time and again from friends from disadvantaged backgrounds; how they regularly were mocked by friends and family for using proper grammar or for even going to college at all. Education and self-improvement were seen as nothing more than pretension while their friends were damned proud of their own ignorance.