<p>Guidance counselors often give undeserved compliments to their students. They exaggerate their students’ level of intelligence and some even tell them that they are geniuses. I wonder if those compliments help motivate already motivated students or if they just inflate the students’ ego and in doing so do the students more harm than good in the long run when the students learn that their intellect wasn’t so special after all.</p>
<p>The people whose egos are overinflated are probably going to be that way regardless of what the guidance counselors tell them. And for everyone else, it feels good to be complimented, even if you know that it’s somewhat exaggerated.</p>
<p>Not really. Everyone deserves a compliment regardless of their flaws since everyone has flaws. a nice word is good to hear from someone, especially someone like a guidance counselor</p>
<p>Why guidance counselors in particular? Couldn’t your argument be applied to anyone?</p>
<p>I haven’t heard of high school GCs doing this–mine was usually too busy to waste time talking to me about anything that didn’t relate to my college apps. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I’m glad I headed off to college knowing that I’m smart…not in an “I’m superior to everyone else” kind of way but in an “I can do this” way. For a lot of CC kids, college is the first time they face serious intellectual challenges, and the first time they get grades lower than As (especially if their school practices grade deflation), and students who start school with an inferiority complex are bound to be overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Who says they, in general, give way too many undeserved compliments?</p>
<p>I have actually gone to a guidance counselor before, for some personal issues, and I wasn’t thrown back a bunch of lovely, uplifting compliments. I was given the reality of my situation but offered some hope that things will get better. I have never run into a counselor that is just spewing compliments like it’s free candy. But shouldn’t they be expected to be positive and complimentary? When is guidance a good thing if the counselor is merely realistic and stingy with their compliments? That’s something I can do myself, but a guidance counselor can be a different voice that sees things in a more positive light.</p>
<p>this seems excessive.
now guidance counselors can’t compliment a student without negative repercussions? it always, in general not just related to this subject, that people have to walk on egg shells more so that nobody is offended, nobody suffers, nobody is insulted, nobody receives too much applause, nobody receives too much or too little attention.</p>
<p>there’s nothing wrong with complimenting a student, if the student receives the compliment in a certain way and reacts poorly, that’s the student’s problem.</p>