Since I am looking at teaching high school I think that this was an important chapter for me to know. While I knew that the definitions were different I have to say that self-concept, self-esteem, and self-worth were actually tied in my mind. Now however I am forced to look at them as the three separate things that they are. This information is very important for teachers to know especially those of us that are looking to teach high school because so many things affect these areas of teens lives.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Self-concept and self-esteem
As a potential teacher, it was interesting to note the powerful affect a positive self-concept and high self-esteem have on a child's achievement in school. Children who perceive themselves as competent and able students are more intrinsically motivated to learn and achieve in school. Therefore, students who are confident are generally more successful in the classroom. Yet, are they confident because they have a positive self-concept and have a high self-esteem or are they sure of themselves because they are successful? It is the classic chicken or egg debate! It seems logical to suggest that there is a link between self-perception and school achievement however doesn't school achievement have an affect on self-perception? I would say the latter is true as well! If a child performs well in class, then he/she will develop an identity through this success. If "Carlos" receives high scores in math, it is highly likely that "Carlos" will perceive himself as a strong math student.
Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge that this cause and effect relationship supports the power of positive reinforcement. As teachers, it is our duty to help students develop a positive self-image. And for children who are still forming their self-concept, our feedback and reactions are crucial to their development. So, it is integral to understand the power and influence that we have on students' lives through our words and actions as teachers.
Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge that this cause and effect relationship supports the power of positive reinforcement. As teachers, it is our duty to help students develop a positive self-image. And for children who are still forming their self-concept, our feedback and reactions are crucial to their development. So, it is integral to understand the power and influence that we have on students' lives through our words and actions as teachers.
Blog #9
I was particularly keen to read about ethnic identity conflicts; about coping mechanisms that adolescents must develop to deal with prejudice. These coping mechanisms also come into play when it comes to whether or not an adolescent has so-called 'feminine' or 'masculine' traits - a distinction that isn't persecuted to a great extent until middle and high school.
Speaking first to ethnic identity, this is the first offense from which a child will have to defend. At three years old, a child already knows that they are different, at least in skin color, from others. Real distinctions - where racism seems to crop up - don't really happen until junior high or high school, when every difference from the 'mainstream' is perceived as a weakness. Around adolescence, boys and girls are starting to think about their place in society, as well as their belief systems.
I've personally seen fights crop up over seemingly trivial issues. As a college student, if another student were to challenge my position on a political party or belief in a deity, I'd reply as an adult - with even temper, and give a well-thought out answer. As adolescents are just beginning to think about their belief systems critically, they tend to still use 'playground justice'("You're wrong, so I'm going to hit you") when questioned on their beliefs on any subject, especially their parents' politics, God, and gender roles.
Male students exist that prefer the soft and 'cuddly' toys over firetrucks, and female students can be tomboys. The book says that young children tend to be more rigid in their gender-role concepts, but that is and isn't true. Male students in early primary school (K-3ish) can 'get away' with playing with teddy bears and other stuffed animals, even though they'll later be associated with just girls. Reinforced gender roles will still stop a boy from playing with overtly 'feminine' toys like dolls (though we could get into a G.I. Joe doll discussion here), and keep girls from playing with construction toys.
Moving away from that point, the book's idea that "...many child psychologists suggest that parents, teachers, and others should encourage children to develop androgynous gender-role conceptions," was pretty shocking. I can only see this making sense if you had a school setting of K-12 that you could completely control, and reinforced this attitude across the board. If you can't, well, even having that attitude for K-8 won't change how barbaric high school can be (I say this as a former 'barbarian' - no worries, all better now), and to teach a child that being androgynous will serve them best in life sounds... wrong. It sounds as if you'll be setting up that child for poor treatment throughout their high school 'career.'
Speaking first to ethnic identity, this is the first offense from which a child will have to defend. At three years old, a child already knows that they are different, at least in skin color, from others. Real distinctions - where racism seems to crop up - don't really happen until junior high or high school, when every difference from the 'mainstream' is perceived as a weakness. Around adolescence, boys and girls are starting to think about their place in society, as well as their belief systems.
I've personally seen fights crop up over seemingly trivial issues. As a college student, if another student were to challenge my position on a political party or belief in a deity, I'd reply as an adult - with even temper, and give a well-thought out answer. As adolescents are just beginning to think about their belief systems critically, they tend to still use 'playground justice'("You're wrong, so I'm going to hit you") when questioned on their beliefs on any subject, especially their parents' politics, God, and gender roles.
Male students exist that prefer the soft and 'cuddly' toys over firetrucks, and female students can be tomboys. The book says that young children tend to be more rigid in their gender-role concepts, but that is and isn't true. Male students in early primary school (K-3ish) can 'get away' with playing with teddy bears and other stuffed animals, even though they'll later be associated with just girls. Reinforced gender roles will still stop a boy from playing with overtly 'feminine' toys like dolls (though we could get into a G.I. Joe doll discussion here), and keep girls from playing with construction toys.
Moving away from that point, the book's idea that "...many child psychologists suggest that parents, teachers, and others should encourage children to develop androgynous gender-role conceptions," was pretty shocking. I can only see this making sense if you had a school setting of K-12 that you could completely control, and reinforced this attitude across the board. If you can't, well, even having that attitude for K-8 won't change how barbaric high school can be (I say this as a former 'barbarian' - no worries, all better now), and to teach a child that being androgynous will serve them best in life sounds... wrong. It sounds as if you'll be setting up that child for poor treatment throughout their high school 'career.'
Blog 9
Overall I thought that this chapter was very interesting; however, the part that I found most interesting was the section about temperament and the model that Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess developed having to do with infant temperament. There were a few reasons that I thought that this research was interesting, the first being that I am a nanny for twins that are currently nine months old, but I have been with them since birth. Reading about the different categories is interesting because I can place the twins into the easy childhood category, and being able to relate what I read to my daily routine is very interesting to me. I also thought that is was interesting because it talked about how from knowing what the child's temperament is as an infant you can help people predict how the child will behave later in life and in certain situations like entering school. the example the book used states, "children showing the 'difficult' pattern in infancy were at greater risk than the other groups for adjustment problems in early and middle childhood...The 'easy' infants tended to show fewer of these difficulties later in development" (337).
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.
In a prior class, I have learned about all the human development classes. I really believe that as people we see thing and believe as what we are stimulated beyond. If we see our parents watching tv, we assume that is the right thing. As we get older. we assume that if our parents say 'I gots the job" we think our parents have the job, we do not understand that our parents have the job. It is very hard for children to understand the difference between teachers an thier parents As teachers, we have to teach them that what we say is the right, although, we are not always correct, but the behaviorist theory states that if we teach a student that repitetion if correct they will learn vocabulary terms via the nativist theory. Teh Nativist Theory states that they teach thepast tenses, and that to me is the most important. When you teach a person the verb tenses, they can only learn more from that.
Blog 9: Idenity/ Self esteem and emotions
Chapter 6 on Self -concept, Identity, and Motivation has so much to offer to me personally as a future educator. I had never thought about self esteem versus the self concept and the roles both play in children's lives. I especially found the text on emotions and emotional competence to be adequate in helping support children in the classroom.
Emotional competence according to the text can be identified as, "the understanding, expression, and regulation of emotions- in the classroom."(pg.349) Helping student positively express and understand their emotions in the classroom environment is so important to creating community and an effective learning environment. The text suggest that teachers should construct a caring, positive, and warm affective environment for students. Teachers also should act as good models for students and help support students in successfully expressing their emotions in appropriate ways. It is also important for teachers to give students opportunities for discussion and talking about emotions. Finally it suggests that teachers give students explicit steps, methods, and directions to handle stress and emotions. I was able to relate well to this chapter and it was important to me because students will come to the classroom will all kinds of experiences, baggage, and home life situations and in order to create community with students they must all feel safe, comfortable, and respected. If students can be taught effective skills with dealing with emotions it can help develop their self-esteem and concept of self. I am a firm believer in reflection and the text really supported reflection of self and others.
Another important connection I made with the text was a quote that stated, " Students with high perception of ability may approach learning tasks with confidence, and success on those tasks may bolster their confidence." I do believe that students attitudes, self esteem, and self concept play a role in students success in learning and tasks. In my own class I want to help students develop positive attitudes and ideas of self. I think self esteem is so important because people can be so hard on themselves and it is important to have a healthy and positive self evaluations of "self."
Emotional competence according to the text can be identified as, "the understanding, expression, and regulation of emotions- in the classroom."(pg.349) Helping student positively express and understand their emotions in the classroom environment is so important to creating community and an effective learning environment. The text suggest that teachers should construct a caring, positive, and warm affective environment for students. Teachers also should act as good models for students and help support students in successfully expressing their emotions in appropriate ways. It is also important for teachers to give students opportunities for discussion and talking about emotions. Finally it suggests that teachers give students explicit steps, methods, and directions to handle stress and emotions. I was able to relate well to this chapter and it was important to me because students will come to the classroom will all kinds of experiences, baggage, and home life situations and in order to create community with students they must all feel safe, comfortable, and respected. If students can be taught effective skills with dealing with emotions it can help develop their self-esteem and concept of self. I am a firm believer in reflection and the text really supported reflection of self and others.
Another important connection I made with the text was a quote that stated, " Students with high perception of ability may approach learning tasks with confidence, and success on those tasks may bolster their confidence." I do believe that students attitudes, self esteem, and self concept play a role in students success in learning and tasks. In my own class I want to help students develop positive attitudes and ideas of self. I think self esteem is so important because people can be so hard on themselves and it is important to have a healthy and positive self evaluations of "self."
Blog 3 Cognitive Development Cathy Morgan
After reading this chapter, article,and listening to the lecture I believe that all are very informative. Both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky pioneered their theories of cognitive development through explanations of cognitive stages and the relationship between individuals and society. Piaget's theory is too inflexible because even as children develop and learn in stages, not all children develop at the same rate as their peers. AS for his theory on Limitations of Preoperational Stage, Egocentrism: inability to extend thoughts beyond the self; cannot take the perspective of others, Centration: focus attention on only one characteristic. Ex: color vs. shape. I am not sure that I agree with either. Working with pre-school children age 2 to 5, I have seen children be able to extend thoughts beyond the self and they do try to think about the perception of others. These children can also focus on more than one characteristic at a time. Vygotsky illustrated the important role that adults play in a child's education. He teachers us that part of a teachers job is to encourage and support parents, letting them know that they are their children first teacher as well as that they are an intricate part of their child's classroom; parental involvement is significant in a child's education and in assisting their child to be successful through out high school. Vygotsky’s Zone of proximal development- a range between what a child can accomplish independently vs. with assistance of a more experienced individual and Scaffolding- the process by which a more experienced individual provides support at less and less intrusive levels. Is of great interest to me as a pre-school teacher in how I can best help all the children in my class.
In the “How People Learn Article” I so believe that this is true “The committee sees the influence of research on these mediating arenas as weak. The research base on learning and teaching has not been consolidated in a way that gives consistent, clear messages in formats that are useful for practice. As a result, the various mediating arenas that influence practice are often not aligned either with research findings or with each other”. After reading through the entire article I was surprised by the information in it. There are several really good ideas, but this one might just be a new beginning to education for our children, “Use the principles of learning for understanding articulated in How People Learn as a lens through which to evaluate existing education practices (K-12 and teacher training programs) and policies.” What a concept “The teaching of meta-cognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.” I have always thought children should be taught how to learn and not what to learn.
In the “How People Learn Article” I so believe that this is true “The committee sees the influence of research on these mediating arenas as weak. The research base on learning and teaching has not been consolidated in a way that gives consistent, clear messages in formats that are useful for practice. As a result, the various mediating arenas that influence practice are often not aligned either with research findings or with each other”. After reading through the entire article I was surprised by the information in it. There are several really good ideas, but this one might just be a new beginning to education for our children, “Use the principles of learning for understanding articulated in How People Learn as a lens through which to evaluate existing education practices (K-12 and teacher training programs) and policies.” What a concept “The teaching of meta-cognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.” I have always thought children should be taught how to learn and not what to learn.
Blog 10 In response to Andrew
You are right about what the book said it is the personal judgment of worthiness to being successful. The book discussed how a person's self-esteem can affect academic performance. Having a low self-esteem can influence how motivated a student is to learn. Easily motivated students, who will take on a tough task generally, have higher self-esteems. I also liked what you said about Encouraging students and being positive to them can help them grow academically. Maybe one day a student of yours is having a bad day, and just taking a few minutes to speak with them can completely turn their day around. Remembering to give that smile, word of encouragement, or tell a personal story to show that you understand what they are dealing with. I would want someone like you to be my child’s teacher.
Blog 9 Self-Concept and Identity Cathy Morgan
I believe that Erickson theory of psychosocial development is a great place to start talking about self-concept and identity. As he points out if the student did not gain trust over mistrust, autonomy over shame and doubt, initiative over guilt industry over inferiority or missed even one of more of the positive side of the developments they are going to have a much harder time with identity over confusion. I also believe that the early temperament plays a part in the student understanding of their self-concept and identity. If your self-concept is not good it is easy for your self-esteem to be very low. I think that your self-esteem and the way others make you feel is a big part of your self-concept. When a student is told over and over again that they are good in school by both teachers and parents, then the student will have a much better self-concept than one who is told you can’t do that, you are no good at this or that. As parents and teacher it is our responsibility to learn bout how we can help our child have good self-concepts and self-esteem. Both these concepts start from birth and continue to change as the child becomes older. I so agree with the text when it reads Positive reinforcement or praise is not enough when students are still failing in areas of importance to them pg 363. Teaching student how to improve their skills is one way we can help them with their self-esteem. I like Marcia’s theory of identity development in the fact that he hypothesized that when adolescents are searching for a viable identity, they 1 experience a process of exploration, and 2 commit to a comfortable and stable self If adolescents fail to explore or commit, they can experience identity problems. PP slide10
I so agree with this part of the power point Modern studies reflect little difference in white and African American children’s self perceptions when: They are succeeding in school and Are held in high regard by parents and peers, Adoption of a bicultural perspective is common. I think that adolescent’s is the hardest time in a person’s life. Trying to figure out, who I am, is very hard for all young people ages 10 to 18. When we talk about ethnic differences I feel that the white society culture is not included in the talk. In the text and every where we hear about African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, just to name a few, but what about students who have been here for many generations and do not even know their ethnic heritage. Do they not have problems with their identity and self-concept? I believe that I am one of the small group of people out there that believes that a child/student is a child/ student no matter what, their skin color, where there ancestors came from, their language is. As a teacher of pre-school students it is my job to teach all of them, promoting a good sense of self-concept and self-esteem in each one of these individual students.
I so agree with this part of the power point Modern studies reflect little difference in white and African American children’s self perceptions when: They are succeeding in school and Are held in high regard by parents and peers, Adoption of a bicultural perspective is common. I think that adolescent’s is the hardest time in a person’s life. Trying to figure out, who I am, is very hard for all young people ages 10 to 18. When we talk about ethnic differences I feel that the white society culture is not included in the talk. In the text and every where we hear about African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, just to name a few, but what about students who have been here for many generations and do not even know their ethnic heritage. Do they not have problems with their identity and self-concept? I believe that I am one of the small group of people out there that believes that a child/student is a child/ student no matter what, their skin color, where there ancestors came from, their language is. As a teacher of pre-school students it is my job to teach all of them, promoting a good sense of self-concept and self-esteem in each one of these individual students.
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