Parentella

Self-confidence is a roadblock that stops many students from living up to their academic abilities. This will be the first of a series of articles focused toward educators. It will feature a series of activities and concepts which have been used to build confidence in students.

The focus for this first article is a concept I like to call “gems and opportunities.” The idea behind it is rather simple: every time a student’s work or behavior needs to be critiqued negatively, the child should also be reminded about what they do well. I use a 3 to 1 ratio: for every criticism (I prefer to call them opportunities–problems are opportunities for solutions),

I like to offer a students three gems (positive feedback). All too often in classrooms, and in society in general, our superiors (could be a boss, sibling, teacher) often only speak to us when they have something bad/negative to say. While the criticism may be necessary, if it makes up a majority of the things children hear from those whom they look up to/respect/are guided by, then their self-esteem takes a beating. Students need positive feedback, too.

In my middle school social studies classes, I take the time to have what i call “mini-conferences” with every student each semester. During the conference, we examine the student’s progress (or lack thereof). An unfortunate truth is that many of my students get poor grades, and there is ample need for negative feedback. When doing so, I try my best to employ the 3 to 1 ratio. Here’s an example: a student needs to be told that he/she is not doing well on written work. Some teachers will simply say “Your writing lacks

effort and enthusiasm, and clearly you’re not trying.” While the statement may be true, it is not the most positive option. But I find at least three positive things to tell them along with the criticism. “You do so well answering questions aloud in class…you clearly know the material…I’d bet that with a little help, you’d be one of the best writers in the class…and you do so well on tests…I know writing can be difficult, but you excel at tests, you pay attention and know your facts, and I know that your writing isn’t far off from perfection.” I got my criticism across politely, in a “the glass is half full” manner. ”

Howard Gardener’s famous Multiple Intelligence Theories is a useful in resource forming “gems” to share with each student. Every child is smart, in fact brilliant, in some way. It might be smart with numbers or an athletic gift. Reminding a child how well they do in some areas is a good launching point for building esteem and ability in other areas. If nothing else, using this approach will make the educator an ally in the students’ minds. All too often, it’s an us (students) vs. them (teachers) mentality in the classroom. An onslaught of gems will diminish the need for opportunities.

Part two discusses positive language use, part three karate board breaking, part 4 a ropes course, part 5 leadership opportunities on campus, part 6 parental tools for building self-esteem, and Part 7 volunteering.

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Mr. Franklin is a teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is an eleven year veteran and has won District and County Teacher of the Year awards. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Bank of America Community Hero award. Before teaching, he spent five years at Learning Forum, which runs summer camps designed to increase student academic potential. It is a world-wide program.