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This is an exceptionally good point. I've read a lot about early child development, and I've never come across this before. It sounds very plausible though: chi

This is an exceptionally good point. I've read a lot about early child development, and I've never come across this before. It sounds very plausible though: children seek attention, so reward good behavior with attention. Of course. The same goes for schools, of course. The misbehavers earn the attention of both teachers and students alike, and if they do it enough, even that of their parents and the administrators. The promising students, on the other hand, are often expected to do their work in near-monastic solitude: usually, the only reason for special attention is if a student is performing weakly. This is necessarily the case given that a teacher having to divide their attention between twenty students and the current priority structure of our schools. Regardless, that's a clear area for improvement.

cubano 12y ago
This is necessarily the case given that a teacher having to divide their attention between twenty students and the current priority structure of our schools. But is it? Don't we all remember that "one teacher" who seemed to give us that little extra attention or push when we needed it the most? Good teachers (at least my good ones) all seem to understand the attention-tool intuitively, but it just became glaringly obvious to me raising my three children and seeing young children behave badly to obviously get their parents attention, and many parents obliging them without thinking. The rather odd part, for me, was, when mentioning this to parents in social groups, I was often looked at like I was nuts...like the idea of bothering a well-behaving kids with attention was beyond the realm of reason.