That student with straight A's who cannot handle a 95 is not fragile. This episode names what your recognition systems are actually installing alongside the grades, and gives you one audit to run from memory, one AI move to make it visible, and one substitution to make.

This episode draws in part on research in:

• Contingent regard and conditional approval in achievement environments (Assor, Roth & Deci, 2004)
• Autonomy-supportive teaching and student motivation (Reeve, 2006)
• Process praise, intrinsic motivation, and persistence (Henderlong Corpus & Lepper, 2002)
• Anxiety and depression in high-achieving youth populations (Luthar & Becker, 2002)