Looking beyond her questionable motivational methods she clearly believed in the seemingly limitless potential of her children and the merits of instilling good self discipline.
I have so many friends who haven't achieved their potential and are now disappointed and depressed as a result. Parents who shouted up the stairs 'have you done your homework' and that was as far as it went. Musical talents being wasted, practice and interest waned as computer and TV use increased. In the bottom stream at school they channelled their energies into becoming the class clown laughing at the 'boffins' in the top set.
The rot set in early at primary level when they were allowed to coast and nothing happened at home to reinforce learning. Many left school with dead end jobs that don't reflect their ability.
Know I am a mother myself I see that self discipline and solid early foundations take a child far. My friends that did school work with their children before they went to school have seen that their child is often believed in early and this positive view of what they may be capable of tends to shadow the child through their school career.
What one child can achieve really very many can but we seem to like to believe that we are all prisoners of our IQ in the UK when really this might just be a cop out? Resources are limited and we have to decide who 'deserves' a good education so that may be one reason why. With effort we can all get better and who knows what is possible? Cognitive science has shown this so much recently but we love to cling to old beliefs about IQ etc. Children who are treated as if they are more intelligent often become so, they come to see themselves as learners who can improve and bounce back when faced with short term failures.
I've seen intelligent children being 'made' over time rather than being born. Are Asian children genetically more intelligent than others? I found that I could beat the most gifted pupil in my class in almost any test if I put the hours in. Put the hours in I used to with some subjects, sometimes putting myself to bed when I came home from school until bedtime so I wasn't tempted by anything else. Then I'd revise solidly, read widely and think deeply. Many thought I'd got an average IQ at best and that I wasn't very smart, but just look what I could do!
Self discipline takes you far in life. Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania found that students ability to stay focused and engaged with a difficult task and not give up predicted their performance in school tests and exams twice as well as their IQ did. Self discipline predicted their grades, IQ did not.
I am also a huge advocate of Carol Dweck (who should pay me for all the publicity I give her :)). Later today I am attending a meeting with a group of high powered business people. I will be listened to and my view will count. Before I adopted a growth mindset this simply wouldn't have happened.