Dear Editor,

Constructive criticism is something we have all experienced and will continue to experience throughout life. We get it from all types of people –  parents, siblings, other family members, teachers, coaches, bosses and even ourselves.

     Constructive criticism is defined as someone giving you opinions on how you performed in something, usually both positive and negative issues, in a friendly manner. The purpose of constructive criticism is to try to improve the outcome of something. I take constructive criticism very well and can normally improve my mistakes when someone gives me constructive criticism.  However, some people such as parents, managers, teachers and sometimes even coaches take it farther and beyond what they need to.

    When the people you are supposed to look up to in life become too harsh and sometimes even too personal, it becomes harder to improve on the constant mistakes you make because you are so afraid to make these mistakes again. What the people you inspire to be like need to understand is that, as children,  we are very sensitive to what adults say. Sometimes adults need to know when enough is enough. These adults need to remember the time in life when they were children and remember the way they wanted to be treated.  

     Criticism is needed in life in order to be successful. Without it you would think you were always right, and  sometimes you just are not. It is always good to get the right kind of feedback when you are trying to improve on a skill that you have not quite yet been able to master. Skills such as tying our shoes, writing our name and riding a bike when we were little. Skills like how to hit a ball farther and drive a car as teenagers. Constructive criticism gives us the tools we need to get good grades in high school and be decent citizens.

     So, what I am saying is that constructive criticism is good to a point! When someone takes the criticism too far and makes you lose interest in something that you are trying to get better at or things that are not really even related to the skill you are trying to improve, then that really is not constructive criticism.

Sincerely,

Skylier Beachy