Name of Student: Cathal Derivan, G00312870

Article/Reading: Carl OBrien, Lawnmower Parents cutting a new swathe

for their offspring (O'Brien, 2016)
1. CONCISE SUMMARY OF READING
The article opens by enlightening us on a former stereotype of the modern
day parent, helicopter parents: those who hover over their offspring to
ensure their every whim is catered for (O'Brien, 2016). The author goes
on to inform the reader of a new type of parent, the lawnmower parent:
Theyre clearing the way, removing any obstacle in (the) path of their
children.
The article reports the lengths to which parents are willing to go to ensure
that their children are given the best opportunity to achieve even if it is
not in the best interest of the child. Schools receiving correspondence
from parents over their children being marked unfairly in exams
(O'Brien, 2016). Or teachers claiming that they feel bullied by some
parents whose expectations for their children far exceed their academic
ability (O'Brien, 2016). The author informs us of a stark truth which such
actions may have on their childs self-esteem: The irony is self-esteem
would be damaged far more by sending them into a class where they
cant handle the pace (O'Brien, 2016).
The remainder of the article informs us of the everlasting effects that
these actions can have on their children as they progress from second into
third level education. Many of todays youths have an unrealistic
expectation of the work load which is necessary to perform well in college.
Due to the actions of their parents, students have become conditioned
into being spoon fed information which has led to an increasing
reluctance on the part of students to study or read any material beyond
which has been provided by their lecturer. (O'Brien, 2016)
The author further critiques the third level system in Ireland and poses the
question if the actual reason behind students wanting to be spoon-fed
information is the teaching methods in place which discourage students
from being independent learners in a university system which is

supposedly meant to promote problem-solving and critical thinking. An

interesting figure presented in the article was of just over one third of
college students claiming to study for six or more hours a week, compared
to half claiming the same in the late 1980s.
Psychologist Maureen Gaffney is quoted as saying it is unfair to place the
blame of poor student performance on the door of students or parents but
is bound up in much broader cultural changes. Our culture has become
too individualistic. She notes that these developments are positive but
like anything can go too far. (O'Brien, 2016). She makes particular
reference to the self-esteem movement in the US, once it was translated
into policy in schools, it went off the rails. So, you have ridiculous things
like no child can win a race everyones a winner (O'Brien, 2016). She
highlights that there is a competitive reality to life that we (teachers and
adults) must prepare children for.
The article closes with an effective hook which sums up a lot of the
argument about stereotyping in this article. I would always be reluctant
to say students are lazy these days or parents are worse, remember,
every single generation is accused of being worse than the one before it
(O'Brien, 2016).
2. CRITICAL REFLECTION
Reflecting upon this news article has allowed me to consider the impact
both the current structure of the Irish education system and modern day
parenting styles can have on the development of a child. There are a
number of points which I wish to discuss throughout this tutorial paper.
They include parents actions leading their kids to engage in a sense of
learned helplessness (a disruption in students motivation levels), the
effects of the structure of the third level education system on a students
education and preparing students for the competitive nature of life during
adolescence.
Carl O Brien in this article informs the reader that teachers increasingly
feel bullied by some parents whose expectations for their children far
exceed their academic ability and how a childs self-esteem would be
damaged far more by sending them into a class where they cant handle
the pace. Reflecting upon this comment I was drawn to Abraham
Maslows hierarchy of needs. Maslow stated that human motivation is
based on people seeking fulfilment and change through personal growth.
Self-actualized people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were
capable of. Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully self-

actualized because our society rewards motivation primarily based on

esteem, love and other social needs (McLeod, 2016). Second level
students are not being afforded the opportunity to become the best they
can be, not what their parents want them to be. As a result, ones
motivation to participate and achieve could suffer and they could engage
in a sense of learned helplessness due to a disruption in their motivation
levels from their parents pushing them too hard: Learned helplessness is
formally defined as a disruption in motivation, affect, and learning
following exposure to non-contingent (uncontrollable) outcomes
(Fincham, 2009). Parents are unaware of the effects that such actions can
have on the psychological development of their child.
This article informs the reader on the effects which lawnmower parenting
can have on the education of a child as they progress to third-level but the
author also notes that these negative impacts may not be purely down to
parenting styles or the individual students. OBrien writes that much of
the rhetoric around third-level education is increasingly focused on
problem-solving and creative thinking. Yet the system is adopting teaching
methods that discourage students from being independent learners
(O'Brien, 2016). He highlights that it may be down to a range of factors
such as the higher education system increasingly regarding students as
consumers (O'Brien, 2016). There seems to be a lack of a pro-active
approach in solving such difficulties within the system. Only one Irish
university is rated within the top 100 universities in the world (Russell,
2016). So why is the third level system adapting strategies which
discourage independent learning? It is interesting to link these
shortcomings in our third level system with the monetary pressures which
the institutes have been put under by the government in recent years:
Government policy towards funding and staffing in the sector is the
primary cause of the current malaise. Between 2007 and 2014, state
funding for universities fell by 28%, from 722.8m in 2007 to 522.2m.
This was matched by an increase in full-time enrolment in our seven
universities of 18%, from 78,577 in 2008 to 93,023 in 2014. Also, student
to academic staff ratios have increased from 19.4: 1 in 2007 to 23.0: 1 in
2011 (Russell, 2016). A recent article in The Irish Times discusses the
Investing in National Ambition: a Strategy for funding Higher Education
report published by the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform in
March 2016 which highlights the need an investment in staff numbers at
third level institutions in order to elevate Ireland back up the university
league tables: Ultimately third-level is a labour-intensive sector, so
funding increases means improved student-staff ratios which are regarded
globally as the proxy for quality (Kelly, 2016). To conclude, the blame for
poor student performance cannot wholly rest on the shoulders of the

students themselves or even parenting styles, there is faults within the

system which need to be targeted and rectified to enable students
performance to improve.
Within the article, psychologist Maureen Gaffney is referenced as saying
that our culture has become too individualistic in recent decades
(O'Brien, 2016). A study conducted at the University of Waterloo and
Arizona State University examined found that Individualism has been on
the rise for the past century: Individualism is the belief that personal
needs are more important than the needs of society as a whole. Across all
cultural indicators, the researchers found evidence that individualism has
been rising steadily (Woolaston, 2015). Gaffney notes that this is good
but has gone too far. She makes particular reference to the self-esteem
movement in the US which once it was translated into policy for schools,
it went off the rails. So, you have ridiculous things like, no child can win a
race everyones a winner. There is a competitive reality to life that we
have to prepare children for (O'Brien, 2016). Why is this the case? What
is it that is so psychologically wrong with losing competition? Stuart H.
Walker in Winning: The Psychology of Competition says that children are
taught that losing is a disgrace; the real disgrace is not trying and children
often avoid competition because they are afraid they may lose (Walker,
1980, p. 66). The key learning from competition is not the fact of losing
but how one responds to it. American educational psychologist John
Dewey once said that failure is instructive. The person who really thinks
learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes (Mark,
2016). In both education and parenting, it is important to prepare
adolescents for life and not just academics. Competition, succeeding or
losing, falling down and getting back up again are inevitable situations
which they are going to encounter in later life and one which they must be
prepared for.
To conclude, I do believe that this article by Carl OBrien highlights the
impact which protective parenting can have on the education and
development of a child, but it also highlights other discussion topics within
the Irish education system which also have an impact.

3. LIST OF REFERNCES

References
Fincham, F. (2009, December 23). Education.com - Learned Helplessness in
Children. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from education.com:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/learned-helplessness/
Kelly, F. (2016, May 28). Retrieved October 18, 2016, from theirishtimes.com:
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/call-for-third-level-students-topay-more-than-4-000-a-year-1.2663721
Mark, S. (2016, May). skymark.com. Retrieved October 18, 2016, from
http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/dewey.asp
McLeod, S. (2016, October 17). simplypsychology.org - Maslow's Hierachy of
Needs . Retrieved from simplypsychology.org :
http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
O'Brien, C. (2016, January 23). Lawnmower Parents Cutting a New Swathe for
Their Offspring. The Irish Times. Retrieved from
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/lawnmower-parents-cuttinga-new-swathe-for-their-offspring-1.2507532
Russell, C. (2016, September 6). thejournal.ie. Retrieved October 18, 2016,
from http://www.thejournal.ie/irish-colleges-trinity-international-rankings2966416-Sep2016/
Walker, S. H. (1980). Winning: The Psychology of Competition . Toronto : W.W.
Norton & Company .
Woolaston, V. (2015, February 6). dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved October 22, 2016,
from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2942561/ThinkGeneration-new-Think-Society-began-shifting-individualism-CENTURYago.html