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Meri Taylor WRT 205 J. Haynes 6 March 2009 Unit 2 Assignment Draft An aggregation of factors determine whether a student learns. Among other things, a student requires a certain level of innate intelligence, strong encouragement from family, financial support, personal motivation, effective teachers, and a positive learning environment. Another factor that plays an important role in education is self-esteem. Gloria Steinem once said, “Self-esteem isn't everything; it's just that there's nothing without it,” and surely this applies to education. A student cannot learn if they do not have the confidence in themselves to believe that they //can// learn. Other variables in education may be improved (newer textbooks, for example), but if a student maintains a low level of self-esteem, he may never reach his full potential. Without a strong foundation of self-esteem, a student cannot be expected to gain knowledge. Educators have asked: What is the role of self-esteem in a student’s education? How does it function in how he learns? Does a teacher have a responsibility to spend on time improving an individual’s self-esteem? Would an attempt to do so be worth the effort? I argue that a teacher must be aware of--and work to improve--the level of self-esteem that a student has in order to teach effectively. Ignoring a student’s personal needs or shortcomings does not help him. A teacher should be able to identify a student with low self-esteem and tailor a pedagogy that builds his confidence as a student. Often, this requires individual attention for the student to improve his self-worth and to have him view himself as a valuable individual. Self-esteem, a term that is very common in everyday usage, must be clearly defined. Self-esteem, in this context, is an individual’s perception of self-worth. A high level of self-esteem means that a person is highly satisfied with his self-perception. A low level of self-esteem means that a person would give a negative evaluation of himself. Self-esteem is largely developed based on the environment in which a person finds himself. Someone who is consistently encouraged will likely have a higher self-esteem because the person believes that if other people see something valuable in him, then it must be there. Conversely, someone who is in a less supportive environment might not be able to have a positive view on his own self-worth. The psychology research behind the concept of self-esteem is extensive. For the purposes of this discussion, self-esteem will be held to mean an individual’s perception of self-worth. What is self-esteem’s role in the classroom? Why does a student need to have high self-esteem? Does it matter? A counter to the argument in favor of making self-esteem a priority in education is proposed by Maureen Stout in her book, //The Feel Good Curriculum: The Dumbing Down of America’s Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem.// Stout argues that self-esteem has become a pervasive convention that is damaging the educational system. She believed that true self-esteem develops out of success, and not from false praise or encouragement from teachers. She challenges the idea that students should be graded for effort instead of achievement, and criticizes a system that allows unsatisfactory work to be accepted as passable. This lowers the standard for all students in the system, and keeps students from moving beyond mediocrity. Dumbing down a curriculum is not beneficial to students. Some may go further into education than they would have otherwise, but in the long run, they have not learned as much as they should be held accountable for. Stout writes that teachers should develop their students’ self-esteem, but not the expense of learning, which is the real purpose of a school. In addition, she warns that over-inflating a child’s self-esteem can inadvertently lead to narcissism, a word that does not carry the positive connotation that self-esteem does. Bolstering a child’s efforts when he does not deserve the praise is not beneficial. So how, then, does a teacher know when they are building a child’s self-esteem and when they are giving praise that is undeserved? If, as Maureen Stout claims, it is harmful to over-applaud a student at some point, how can a teacher avoid doing it? It is clearly a difficult balance. A teacher wants to strengthen a student’s self-worth, but should neither lower the overall standard to accept unsatisfactory work, nor over-praise a child to the point that he becomes self-absorbed. How can this be done? An example of an educational initiative that weaves self-esteem into its framework is called Children Beyond Our Borders (CBOB). Founded in 2003, this program provides support for impoverished children in Latin American countries, mainly through education. CBOB Historical context Background on the program Interview with Angelica Suarez, Founder and Vice President How does CBOB use self-esteem? CBOB uses strengthening self-esteem as a tenant for their mission. One of their main projects, called “One Child at a Time,” aims to interact with the individual student on a one-on-one basis. According to CBOB’s website, this goal is accomplished by the following means: Creating individual profiles that tell the children's stories Maintaining quarterly progress reports that allow CBOB to track the child's social-behavioral, psychological, and academic school performance Recognize individual birthdays as a means of meeting the child's individual needs (i.e. personalized attention to build self-esteem and assist with an area of struggle in school) Encourage the children to express themselves through journaling to provide a healthy outlet for their emotions Acknowledging each student as an individual is critical to the mission of the CBOB program. Perhaps this is so important in the particular societal context of the program; the backgrounds that most of the students come from are not pleasant. These children have experienced hardships that the average American elementary school child has not experienced. Therefore, the needs of a student at CBOB are probably greater than the needs of an American child. A child in Latin America might have a lower self-worth due to the environment in which they live.