Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Blog 9
This is a hard concept to get the hang of when you are actually working with kids. The self esteem thing is especially hard to make it work right. I have seen it when so many times something has happened to a student to make their self esteem go down and they just get stuck in a hole. We have all heard that confidence is attractive and seen the movies where the confident quarterback becomes popular. The trouble with these situations is that when someone has a high amount of self-esteem they probably are in a situation like the jock where the society feeds into the growth of that self esteem. The same goes to the kid who has no self esteem. The nerd who started with no self esteem because of the way people treated him based on the way he looked could potentially stay stuck in that hole without self esteem if the school society keeps making fun of him. It is extremely difficult to reverse one of these situations. In these cases it is important as teachers to pay special attention to the way your students behave and be aware of how they act towards each other. If you notice that unpopular student who has low self esteem because maybe everyone makes fun of him how he looks, we could be helpful as teachers to help them realize that there is more to them than looks. That particular student may be an artistic whiz or an engineering genius! As teachers we have to help our students realize who they are completely, not just the way others view them. This will help boost their confidence and help them feel like they really are worth something. I believe that if a person starts out healthy young, in their mind and body, they have a better chance of continuing that throughout their life. I do however also believe that just because you are popular in high school and have terrific self-esteem, that does not mean that that is how it will be for the rest of your life. I agree with Erikson's theory that people continue to develop their identity throughout their lives. Every day and every experience makes a difference and it is dependent on how you handle your daily "tasks" and "issues" or if you handle them at all. For that student with low self-esteem, he may have been shown by his teacher how wonderful of an artist he is, but it is dependent on him how he wants to handle that comment. He may choose to believe that no matter what art can not compare to physical looks and still dwell on how unpopular he is. In this case, the students confidence will not change and his self-esteem will continue to be low. However, if the student decides to expand his artistic ability and decides that being an artist and an intellectual is even more special that being physically attractive then this student's self-confidence will have a significant boost.
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You were talking, Tacara, about confidence; about the 'nerd' not being able to get out of their hole of 'no self-esteem.' I agree, it must be difficult to gain self-esteem in the face of seemingly endless persecution; however, while I agree that teachers can tell their students that there's great things in their future, and they're talented in other ways, it's important that you don't instill a sense of smug superiority. I knew a number of kids at my school that were better at technology than I was, and just out and out claimed that they were smarter than everyone else at school - that even the teachers told them that.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think THAT did for their popularity?
Even setting aside popularity, it's a terrible thing when self-esteem is low, but it's just as bad when it's overblown. As teachers, we have to watch out for that, as well.
As potential teachers we are forced into situations and classroom that may be difficult. However, we must find strengths and unique talents among all of our students because they are there! Remember, we play an integral role in helping children and adolescents form a positive self-image of oneself. Our words and actions towards students can be more powerful than we expect. Always be positive and find the good in every student.
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