Type I for Parents and Educators Nine Ideas for
Helping Our Kids All kids start out as curious, self-
directed Type Is. But many of them end up as disengaged,
compliant Type X’s. What’s going on Maybe the problem
is us—the adults who are running schools and heading
families. If we want to equip young people for the new
world of work—and, more important, if we want them to
lead satisfying lives—we need to break Motivation 2.0’s
grip on education and parenting.
Unfortunately, as with business, there’s a mismatch between what science
knows and what schools do. Science knows (and you do, too, if you read Chapter
2) that if you promise a preschooler a fancy certificate for drawing a picture,
that child will likely draw a picture for you—and then lose further interest in
drawing. Yet in the face of this evidence—and as the world economy demands
more nonroutine, creative, conceptual abilities—too many schools are moving in
the wrong direction. They’re redoubling their emphasis on routines, right
answers, and standardization. And they’re hauling out a wagon full of “if-then”
rewards—pizza for reading books, iPods for showing up to class, cash for good
test scores. We’re bribing students into compliance instead of challenging them
into engagement.
We can do better. And we should. If we want to raise Type I kids, at school and
at home, we need to help them move toward autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
Here are nine ways to start the journey.
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