Every Friday evening, I teach English online to a 6-year-old girl. Before we started the whole thing, I asked her mother to find her a study buddy or partner. If she couldn't find one, I suggested she play that role herself. Unfortunately, she didn't do either.
Yesterday, I spent some time explaining to the mother why having at least one study buddy is important. I began by talking about company culture, since she owns a few stores in Beijing. I explained that the purpose of a company culture is to create shared norms, values, standard behaviors, an environment or atmosphere, and 同伴压力 (tóng bàn yā lì) peer pressure.
A good company culture works like good peer pressure. It encourages employees to perform well because they see their peers doing the same, such as avoiding the use of inappropriate language in the office.
Additionally, by giving accolades to people for their extraordinary performance, as one of my previous employers did, the company aims to create positive pressure on other employees to compete for accolades by outperforming each other.
Similarly, having study buddies for her daughter can create a positive peer pressure to learn. The more study buddies, the better. They can motivate and emulate each other, share knowledge, and make learning more enjoyable. I remember my children were always more productive when they buddied up with friends doing homework.
It's true that managing people is complicated, but peer pressure works like a miracle among children. They have a strong need for belonging, acceptance, and friendship, which, in our case, can be fulfilled by having study buddies.
Peer pressure can be more impactful than parents. Parents just need to make sure they are good pressures. By helping create a supportive and collaborative peer environment for learning, we can harness the power of positive peer pressure to help children thrive.
Encouraging the system of study buddies is a small but significant step towards building a positive peer pressure with a microculture of shared learning and growth. It's also an opportunity for our children to enjoy the support and companionship they need for learning and growing up.