— Overview
The notes stay with that experiment, and with a writer who has also worked as a mentor and does not simply accept a patriarchal view of family education.
— Contents and key concepts
Not the child’s burden alone
The notes take up Gu Byeong-du’s book Is Being Bad at Studying Only the Child’s Responsibility? The title is already a question, and the argument, as they read it, answers no. Family, school, and society share the responsibility. The child is not asked to carry it alone.
They stay with that redistribution of blame, before they come to the experiment that most stayed with them.
Two kinds of praise
The book reports a praise experiment. Some children were told, “You’re so smart.” Others were told, “You worked hard and solved it — that’s impressive.” Later, the first group tended to choose easier problems. The second group was more willing to take on a problem of any kind.
The notes take this as a reason to praise process over results. What is noticed in the child changes what the child will try next.
Questions that lead, and a mentor’s doubt
They also keep the book’s interest in questions that lead a child’s thinking, rather than questions that only test whether an answer is right. The writer’s own work as a mentor sits beside that interest.
Some disagreement remains, too, with a patriarchal view of family education that had appeared along the way. They wanted to keep the experiment, and that doubt, in view. The same Korean notes, written out more fully, are on CampusDown.
Sources
- Student notes on Is Being Bad at Studying Only the Child’s Responsibility?, read through a praise experiment and shared responsibility.
Last updated 15 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
Where does Gu Byeong-du’s book, as they read it, place responsibility for a child who studies poorly?
Not with the child alone. Family, school, and society share the responsibility.
What praise experiment do they mark?
Children told “you’re so smart” later chose easier problems. Children told “you worked hard and solved it — that’s impressive” later took on problems more freely. The notes take this as a reason to praise process over results.
What else do they keep from the book?
Questions that lead a child’s thinking, rather than questions that only test a right answer. The writer’s own experience as a mentor also sits in the notes, along with some disagreement with a patriarchal view of family education.
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