The term "Matthew Effect" originates from a parable in the Bible, from the Gospel of Matthew: Once upon a time, a king was about to go on a long journey. Before he left, he gave each of his three servants a coin and instructed them, "Go do business, and when I return, come to me." When the king returned, the first servant said, "Master, the coin you gave me has earned ten more." The king rewarded him with ten cities. The second servant said, "Master, the coin you gave me has earned five more." The king rewarded him with five cities. The third servant reported, "Master, I hid the coin in a handkerchief out of fear of losing it, and I did not use it." The king ordered that the third servant's coin be given to the first servant, saying, "To those who have, more will be given, but from those who have little, even that will be taken away." This is the "Matthew Effect," reflecting a common phenomenon in modern society where the "rich get richer," and the gap between the strong and weak continues to widen.
In the 1960s, renowned American sociologist Robert K. Merton coined the term "Matthew Effect." He pointed out that when an individual, group, or region achieves success in a particular area (such as wealth, reputation, or status), it creates an accumulation of advantages that increases their chances of further success and progress. Simply put, the "strong get stronger, the weak get weaker," and the gap between the strong and weak continues to grow. The Matthew Effect is a widespread phenomenon, present in many sectors of society, and it is also prevalent in the field of education.
In the school education process, driven by the interests of enrollment and academic performance, schools often divide students into different classes such as "experimental classes," "elite classes," and "parallel classes" based on their exam rankings. These different classes are assigned varying levels of teaching resources and staff. Generally, high-performing students receive better teachers and educational resources, with the "experimental" and "elite" classes being favored. However, students in "parallel classes," due to their learning abilities, often do not have access to these higher-quality resources and are not as highly regarded as those in "experimental" or "elite" classes. As schools focus on increasing enrollment numbers and improving their academic success rates, this division between class tiers continues to intensify, concentrating resources and further deepening the inequality. This unequal distribution of educational resources is another clear manifestation of the Matthew Effect in education.
Families with a high level of educational awareness are more willing to provide better learning services for their children, leading to their children becoming increasingly excellent, passing this excellence from generation to generation. In contrast, families with lower levels of educational awareness may not prioritize quality education, and their children tend to repeat the mistakes of previous generations. As a result, the gap between affluent families and average families grows ever wider. Thus, parents must strive to enhance their own educational awareness and provide their children with more specialized and systematic elite education, thereby strengthening and improving the entire family across generations.
In family education, many parents resort to threatening methods, such as: "If you don't listen to me, I will abandon you," or "If you don't go to sleep, the monster will come to take you away." As British philosopher Aldous Huxley once said, "Life is not ruled by circumstances, but by the terror of our own habitual thoughts." Threats may seem effective at first, but over time, their impact fades. Children, especially those with underdeveloped minds, may experience psychological fear from parental threats that last for one or two years. However, as children mature and realize that the threats are merely an empty warning, their effectiveness quickly dissipates. Long-term use of threats to control children can have severe negative psychological impacts. Under parental pressure, children often comply passively, not proactively or happily, with the tasks given to them. This leads to a "Matthew Effect" in their psychological development, where they fail to learn the true lessons from the tasks, instead merely following instructions.
American psychologist Jonathan Freedman once conducted an experiment where he gave a group of children a highly entertaining toy, such as a robot that danced and did flips. When children misbehave, parents are advised not to react with anger or attempt to force their children to comply, but instead, to view the situation from the child's perspective.
Socrates once said: "Nature has given us one mouth and two ears, meaning we should listen more and speak less." As parents, we often misinterpret children's communication. In building the parent-child relationship, we don't lack communication, but rather listening. A more effective approach would be, for example, when a child eats slowly, to make it a fun game, such as a race to see who eats faster. The winner would receive a reward. This approach can greatly motivate children to eat with more enthusiasm and engage more actively in the task at hand.
This illustrates that once an individual, group, or region achieves success in a certain area, it accumulates advantages that lead to further success. In terms of building a child's self-confidence, the more confident a child is, the more encouragement and support they receive from others, leading to better achievements. These achievements, in turn, further stimulate the child’s self-confidence, creating a positive feedback loop.
Disclaimer: Mention of any brand or trademark is for identification only and does not imply partnership or endorsement
