Feedback Strategies: To Praise or Not to Praise

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I read the articles How to Craft Constructive Feedback and The Difference Between Praise and Feedback. The two articles had a different focus, but both promoted the idea that sometimes it's a good idea to withhold praise, although the contexts were very different.

The article on constructive feedback said that sometimes your feedback isn't necessary. Not everything that someone does, particularly in the realm of art and other creative pursuits, requires outside opinion or interjection. It can be enough to just see it. Perhaps you will like all or some of it, perhaps you will not, but that's not its purpose. Its purpose is to express something from the heart and mind of the creator. In the situations where feedback is desired, it shouldn't constructive, not mean. Simply telling someone that you didn't like something does nothing to help them improve it, and if you're unkind in your criticism, it's unlikely that they'll take your advice anyway.

The article on praise and feedback was interesting in that I wasn't quite sure how I felt about labeling praise as a bad thing. After reading the article, I understood better that it's not so much about withhold praise per se, but about being more involved in the thought processes that children are using, and allowing them to develop their own thoughts and opinions. I do think that our culture tends to overpraise, but I see some value in it when its deserved and focused on the correct thing. I find Carol Dweck's ideas about process praise to be a good middle ground.

Topic Research: Mythical Creatures

Belvedere Sphynx (Wikipedia)

- My first, and perhaps favorite, story idea is to write about a 19th century explorer who is out researching and hunting for various legendary creatures. He is certain that they exist, so he is out looking for proof. He ends up at a temple that is being guarded by a sphinx. The sphinx forces the man to answer several riddles in exchange for its help (and the man's life), and each riddle centers around a different mythical creature, leading into a story about them. Just about any creature could be plugged into the story, but I'm most drawn to the unicorn, phoenix, and griffin.

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- Another story idea that I liked revolved around the day to day goings on at a dragon zoo (not Jurassic Park style, much more boring and prosaic). The framework story might follow a zookeeper and his new trainee. As the somewhat jaded zookeeper teaches the newbie about the different exhibits, he tells stories about their origin and/or temperament. As he passes along this knowledge, he is reminded of how remarkable the dragons really are. I could include a Chinese dragon, a Japanese dragon, and a European dragon (perhaps based on Beowulf).

Loup-garou (Wikimedia)

- My final story idea is about a grizzled, alcoholic, retired werewolf hunter with an eye patch. I don't know why, but the eye patch is important. He is hired to help and protect a young lady who has been cursed, and is being threatened by various supernatural creatures, while she attempts to end the curse First, she tells him the story of the ghost that haunts her and wishes to possess her. There is later a run in with a vampire and a werewolf. I suspect that this story would end in a twist.

Week 3 Story: From the Mouths of Babes

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One fateful night, all of the village's children filed into the grass hut for story time with the wise man. They gathered weekly to listen to legends and tales that were meant to teach them about their history, the world and how to live in it. Last week’s story had been about Noah’s ark, the flood, and the saving of the giant Og. Tonight’s story promised to continue the saga of Noah and Og. “Children, tonight I will tell you about Noah’s journey to reintroduce growing things to the flood ravaged world,” the wise man began. “As you remember, Og had sworn himself into mankind’s service in exchange for food during the flood. Noah commanded that he follow him and help to plant fruits and vegetables throughout the world. At one point in the journey, Noah planted a vine. Noticing Noah’s particular care for this unremarkable plant, Og questioned its purpose. Noah explained to Og that this common looking vine would grow life-giving grapes that could be used to eat, or to drink in the form of wine. Og declared that he would make sacrifices for this vine, and proceeded to sacrifice a sheep, a lion, a pig, and a monkey. For this reason, a little wine might make a man gentle like a sheep. A bit more, and he will display a lion’s bravery. When he begins to drink too much, that same man will act with savagery, like an unmannered pig. If he unwisely continues his consumption, he act as idiotic as a silly monkey. And that, my children, is why wine is both a blessing and a curse.” The wise man asked the children if they understood the story, and if they had any questions. “I have a question,” one of the children announced. “These events occur very soon after the flood, right?” “Yes, that is correct,” the wise man answered. “And only two of each animal were saved from the flood, isn’t that what you told us?” “Yes, that is also true,” the wise man again answered. “Then why on earth is Noah allowing four different animals to be sacrificed for a vine, when there are so few animals, and what’s left is needed for breeding? That’s ridiculous. That is utterly shortsighted. If that had happened, there would be no sheep, or lions, or pigs, or monkeys left. This story is ridiculous.” Surprised by the child’s vehemence, the wise man attempted to explain that the story was a parable. It was not supposed to depict realistic truth, but to illustrate a deeper truth. The precocious child was undeterred by that argument, “Then why present it as fact, when it is really fiction? That negates the entire purpose of it, distracts from the moral point of the story, and transfers the focus from what needs to be learned to whether or not the event actually occurred!” Having no ready argument, the wise man was forced to concede the child’s point. That is why all the children in the village are now taught the lessons they need to learn with honesty, instead of fiction and superstition.


Authors Note: The story "The Giant of the Flood" is a Jewish fairy tale that is a retelling of the flood story that has Noah grudgingly saving a giant. After he built the ark, and loaded it with the regular animals, Noah wanted to save a unicorn. The giant Og, hoping to be saved as well, finds a unicorn and brings it to Noah. Noah ties a rope the unicorn's horn (the animal is far too large to fit on the ark), and intends to feed it while it swims beside the ark. The rains begin, and Og jumps onto the swimming unicorns back. Noah finally agrees to feed Og if he will agree to forever be a servant of mankind. Having no choice, Og agrees. After the waters recede, Noah enlists Og's help to help him plant fruits and flowers throughout the world. After Noah plants the grapevine, Og performs the sacrifice that I reference in my story. Ultimately, Og betrays mankind and is killed by Moses. The story was very long, so in my retelling I focused on the story of the grapevine and Og's sacrifice to it. The child's questions were a general summation of the (not entirely serious) questions that I had while reading the story. I also decided that I wanted the questioning of a etiological story/parable to essentially become a minor etiological story about a separate situation.


Bibliography: "The Giant of the Flood," Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Web source.

Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales, Part B

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- The story, The Rabbi's Bogey-Man is a variation of the Golem of Prague legend. In it, the Rabbi creates two different Golems, one female and one male, at two different times. He is ultimately forced to destroy them both.
- The story presents the Rabbi's initial motivation for the creation of his first Golem as the desire for a servant. His motivation for the creation of the second Golem is to prove to the king that his action was not sinful. Most of the legends regarding the Golem of Prague state that the Golem was made to defend the city's Jewish community against those who wanted to oppress and/or kill them. I find the idea that the creature was defensive to be a more appealing take on the legend. It puts the Rabbi's actions in a more sympathetic light, and makes the Golem more ominous.
- One thread that seems to weave through this story and all of the other legends is the idea that the Golem eventually lost control, or began to act in unintended ways, thus requiring its destruction.
- Another common thread is that the Golem is brought to life and controlled by a scroll in its mouth, and that removal of that scroll results in the 'death' of the Golem.
- I think this story could be told well in a traditional, European style fairy tale manner as a sort of warning about future actions: simple, straightforward, Once Upon a Time style.



Bibliography: "The Rabbi's Bogey-Man," Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales, Part A

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- The story about the Giant and the Flood includes information about the criteria Noah used to determine what animals would be saved, the saving of a unicorn and a giant named Og, how that giant was forced to enslave himself to mankind in exchange for being saved, an etiological mention about wine and why it makes you drunk, and Og's ultimate betrayal of his oath and his death.
- The entire story is quite long, too long to include all of the details in a retelling. The most interesting part of the story, the part that stood out to me, is the etiological story about why wine makes you drunk.
- In the story, some mention of Og's origin and involvement with Noah would be required. Why was he a servant of Noah and, by extension of that, mankind? Why is Og so bitter and angry toward Noah that he would bless/curse the grapes in such a way?
- To flesh out the story, more can be included about the importance of the grapevine and the wine that will come from it.
- Why are animals getting sacrificed in the first place? There was just a massive flood that killed everything, except what was on the ark. That flood was obviously very recent in relation to the story of the grapevine being planted. Therefore, there are very few animals, and what is there are vital for breeding purposes. So, why are these vitally necessary animals being sacrificed over a plant in the first place?
- I could tell a story of someone retelling this story, in a shortened version, and have the listeners question the unnecessary sacrifices.



Bibliography: "The Giant of the Flood," Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Web source.