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Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in Our Homes and Schools
Greater Expectations is the book that exposed the low standards that children are confronted with in our homes, our schools, and throughout our culture. It exploded many of the misconceptions about children and how to raise them, including the cult of self-esteem, "child-centered" learning, and other overly indulgent practices that have been watering down the education and guidance that we are providing our young people. It disclosed how the self-centered ethic is damaging our youth. Greater Expectations started America talking about these issues and about how young people need to be provided with challenges and a sense of purpose if we want them to survive and thrive in life.
Provocative and challenging, Greater Expectations was a wake-up call, a must-read for anyone concerned about the growing youth crisis in America and what we can do about it.
Provocative and challenging, Greater Expectations was a wake-up call, a must-read for anyone concerned about the growing youth crisis in America and what we can do about it.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 1995
3 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
William Damon
42 books33 followersOne of the world’s leading scholars of human development, William Damon is Professor of Education at Stanford University and the Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence. Prior to joining Stanford in 1997, he was University Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University.
By focusing his work on the positive aspects of “growing up” rather than on the severe behavioral problems of adolescents, Damon has put himself on the forefront of the emerging positive psychology movement in the United States. Damon speaks regularly to public and academic audiences about contemporary trends in child development and has written widely about personal development and moral commitment at all ages of life.
His current research explores how people develop character and a sense of purpose in their work, family, and community relationships. He examines how young people can approach their careers with a focus on purpose, imagination, and high standards of excellence. Damon also has written widely about how to educate for ethical understanding. His work is used in professional training programs in the fields of journalism, law, and business.
Damon is the author of 17 books and numerous book chapters and articles on education and human development, especially character development. His work has been influential for research and theory in academic developmental psychology and in the broader society, especially around questions of childrearing and schooling. His 1995 book, Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in Our Homes and Schools helped create a societal push to increase standards for achievement and service and was the recipient of the prestigious Parents’ Choice® award. Damon’s other books written for general audiences include The Moral Child, Some Do Care, The Youth Charter and Good Work. He is founding editor of the well-known series, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development and editor in chief of the definitive Handbook of Child Psychology, fifth and sixth editions.
Damon’s research and insights have been regularly covered in national publications, including the Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Washington Post. His many national talk show appearances include Oprah, Today, Primetime Live, Talk of the Nation, The Diane Rehm Show, and Morning Edition.
Among many national recognitions, Damon was recently elected to the National Academy of Education. He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Northern California.
By focusing his work on the positive aspects of “growing up” rather than on the severe behavioral problems of adolescents, Damon has put himself on the forefront of the emerging positive psychology movement in the United States. Damon speaks regularly to public and academic audiences about contemporary trends in child development and has written widely about personal development and moral commitment at all ages of life.
His current research explores how people develop character and a sense of purpose in their work, family, and community relationships. He examines how young people can approach their careers with a focus on purpose, imagination, and high standards of excellence. Damon also has written widely about how to educate for ethical understanding. His work is used in professional training programs in the fields of journalism, law, and business.
Damon is the author of 17 books and numerous book chapters and articles on education and human development, especially character development. His work has been influential for research and theory in academic developmental psychology and in the broader society, especially around questions of childrearing and schooling. His 1995 book, Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in Our Homes and Schools helped create a societal push to increase standards for achievement and service and was the recipient of the prestigious Parents’ Choice® award. Damon’s other books written for general audiences include The Moral Child, Some Do Care, The Youth Charter and Good Work. He is founding editor of the well-known series, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development and editor in chief of the definitive Handbook of Child Psychology, fifth and sixth editions.
Damon’s research and insights have been regularly covered in national publications, including the Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Washington Post. His many national talk show appearances include Oprah, Today, Primetime Live, Talk of the Nation, The Diane Rehm Show, and Morning Edition.
Among many national recognitions, Damon was recently elected to the National Academy of Education. He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Northern California.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 12, 2014
UPDATE: It has been two months since I read this book and I just reviewed it and WOW! this is an excellent book! It has deeply shaped my thoughts about parenthood and education. It helped me to draw philosophical connections about many of the education oddities I come across, mainly the influence of Piaget on our education philosophies. I have not yet read Piaget, so I cannot say whether his philosophy was beneficial or not, but I can say that the way we have applied him is modern America is so wrong, in that it has diminished our expectations of our children and created unhealthy education and life habits within our culture. So, in conclusion, if you an educator, READ THIS BOOK! :)
My greatest take away from this book was the way the author presented the history of childhood expectations: how we use to have such rigid expectations and how now we have such loose expectations. The book gave me peace and reminded me that it is really neither of these views that are beneficial, but rather a middle ground, which I translated as having high expectations within a loving environment.
My greatest take away from this book was the way the author presented the history of childhood expectations: how we use to have such rigid expectations and how now we have such loose expectations. The book gave me peace and reminded me that it is really neither of these views that are beneficial, but rather a middle ground, which I translated as having high expectations within a loving environment.
March 10, 2010
My review
Overall I liked this book for the information that it imparted. However, I did struggle with it at times because it seemed to be redundant, making the same point over and over again, sometimes spiralling around a given topic. I think that the same "value" could have been docuemented in a meaningful way if far fewer pages. It also was a little outdated having been written back in the '90s. While I'm sure the author had plenty of evidence to support his assertion that the overall character of youth is declining. I'm not sure, with it now being 2010, that things have unfolded the way (or at least not as dramatically bad as) he predicted for our kids.
I learned (among other things)
-Kids need and thrive in a enviroment where they have boundaries, receive consistent discipline, do not receive unjustified praise, and are held to high standards
-Kids that do not have these things often become demoralized and apathetic
-Kids are much more resilient and capable than some of today's overprotective and overindulgent parents believe them to be
-That providing an enriching environment requires the involvement and coordination of parents, schools and the community
-That schools, in general, struggle to provide an adequate learning experience for all children regardless of ability, background and interests
-As families become more and more self-sufficient the positive role that the community plays in transmitting cultural values to children diminishes
Overall I liked this book for the information that it imparted. However, I did struggle with it at times because it seemed to be redundant, making the same point over and over again, sometimes spiralling around a given topic. I think that the same "value" could have been docuemented in a meaningful way if far fewer pages. It also was a little outdated having been written back in the '90s. While I'm sure the author had plenty of evidence to support his assertion that the overall character of youth is declining. I'm not sure, with it now being 2010, that things have unfolded the way (or at least not as dramatically bad as) he predicted for our kids.
I learned (among other things)
-Kids need and thrive in a enviroment where they have boundaries, receive consistent discipline, do not receive unjustified praise, and are held to high standards
-Kids that do not have these things often become demoralized and apathetic
-Kids are much more resilient and capable than some of today's overprotective and overindulgent parents believe them to be
-That providing an enriching environment requires the involvement and coordination of parents, schools and the community
-That schools, in general, struggle to provide an adequate learning experience for all children regardless of ability, background and interests
-As families become more and more self-sufficient the positive role that the community plays in transmitting cultural values to children diminishes
February 16, 2012
I hate to give this a bad review because it is well-meaning and obviously a topic that needs exploration. As a parent, I was hoping to find insights into our "culture of indulgence" and perhaps some practical instructions on how to counteract it. Unfortunately, the author spends too much time telling me what's wrong with kids today. Besides the pedantic tone and unnecessary pages devoted to this, the newsworthiness is outdated. Plus, there is a 'chicken little' tone that claims that we are on the edge of the abyss (in 1996). Twenty years — and loads of new research — later, the problems of apathetic kids and failing schools persist but we no longer believe times are worse than ever before in history. The premise itself is outdated. That aside, the writing is hardly reader-friendly or engaging in any way. With so many repeats of "as I said in chapter 2" I felt like I was in an especially boring college lecture. Too bad because I feel this is an important topic but after reading this book I am none the wiser.
June 10, 2009
A book on Anson Dorrance's reading list, I found the first third of the book to be a great description of today's typically entitled and coddled children. Damon makes some strong points about parenting, schools and today's young people, but does not place the blame on any one entity. Rather, he finds the combination of issues to be troublesome (media, declining schools, soft parenting).
The problem with this book is that large chunks are purely technical (dry) and/or incredibly redundant (the last chapter on communities is a waste).
Overall, however, Damon makes a strong case for society to take a hard look at its children, move away from either/or philosophies, and embrace the idea that our young people (and the institutions that impact them) can be fixed.
The problem with this book is that large chunks are purely technical (dry) and/or incredibly redundant (the last chapter on communities is a waste).
Overall, however, Damon makes a strong case for society to take a hard look at its children, move away from either/or philosophies, and embrace the idea that our young people (and the institutions that impact them) can be fixed.
Want to read
January 17, 2017I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14361032
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14361032
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews