WESTVILLE | Have schools moved too far toward promoting students' self-esteem at the expense of intellectual rigor?

That was the question raised during Purdue University North Central's recent Books & Coffee series.

Jane Rose, associate professor of English, reviewed the book "The Feel-Good Curriculum: The Dumbing-Down of America's Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem" by Maureen Stout.

The book indicts an educational movement from the 1970s that emphasizes making students feel good about themselves above real academic success, Rose said.

By not requiring anything that might make students feel inadequate, educators are creating learners who are apathetic, have a sense of entitlement, can't think critically and ultimately feel inadequate, Stout argues. Students are not challenged, but expect high grades simply for their effort, not for achievement.

The self-esteem emphasis has made students narcissistic and cynical and has pushed them to focus on feelings in their learning rather than on rational argument, according to Stout's book.

Not all agree with all of Stout's assessment.

Jay Harrison, a 32-year biology teacher at Chesterton High School, sees the need for praise and encouragement. But if they're not justified, kids will know it.

"I think it's important to build self-esteem, but not false self-esteem," he said.

The curriculum has become more rigorous for top-level students as greater pressure to get into college has led to more advanced level classes, Harrison said.

But for other students, the curriculum has gotten more watered down. Teachers are teaching less, Harrison said, because of the enormous state and federal pressure for students to pass standardized tests used to assess school performance.

Carol Kurmis, an instructor in the PNC business college, said she sees students with weak writing skills. Basics that should have been mastered in high school have to be reintroduced.

But Kurmis doesn't feel that things have been dumbed down. And she feels it's vital to know and value where students are coming from. Students' lives are so busy today, which can have an impact on how they engage in critical thinking.

"It's not that they can't," Kurmis said. "They don't have time."