Respect
From Prue Leith Sir: As one in the thick of education and training I'd agree with a lot of what Roger Scruton says (Know your place', 27 November), and only add that most teachers, and indeed pupils, would too. Unstinting praise when not deserved fools no one. I once heard a child reply to a 'That's wonderful, Kyle' with 'No, it's not. It's crap, and you know it, Miss. You just say it's great because you aren't allowed to tell us we're rubbish.'
Even the leftie Rowntree Foundation once did a study concluding that too much praise led to young louts demanding 'Gimme respec" without it occurring to them that they should earn it. But in order to get a disaffected young person who really believes he is 'rubbish' to make the effort, he must first be encouraged to believe success is possible. It's a circular process — encouragement leads to the beginning of self-belief, which leads to effort, which leads to success, which leads to the esteem of others, and therefore to deserved self-esteem. If that's child-centred education, I'm all for it.
Prue Leith
C:hastleton, Gloucestershire
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