Sophia won, “The Don’t Eat the Marshmallow Award” in math class this past week. It  was given to her from her teacher for “showing exemplary self control, delaying gratification and focusing  on the long term goal of doing her best every day throughout the course of Trigonometry/Analytic Geometry.”  The award is named after a groundbreaking experiment held at Stanford University in the early ’70’s in which four- year-old children were given a choice. They were each given a marshmallow, which they could eat right away, or they could wait 15 minutes and then have two. Two thirds of the children immediately devoured the marshmallow, some hung on as long as they could, and the rest were able to wait  and were rewarded with two marshmallows. Fourteen years later there was a followup study done that revealed that the kids who waited were much more successful in life, with better grades and life goals, than the ones who ate the marshmallow right away. The study’s findings were that self-discipline and delayed gratification are the most important factors for success.

Needless to say, I was extremely proud of Sophia, but more importantly, she was very proud of herself. This recognition is particularly significant because Sophia does not have a natural aptitude for math. She really has to work hard at it, that entails working with tutors  4-6 hours a week plus additional studying.  I have always told her that what she lacks in ability she  makes up for in dedication and perseverance. Way to go Sophia!!! We are all very proud of you. One final note: the award was in the form of  a certificate, which we framed, accompanied by two marshmallows, which Sophia promptly ate.