Happy New Year.

Today I was reminded that 2011 would be no more.

"Happy New Year," my boyfriend said. "It's 2012."

"I'm excited," I told him in honest thrill. "My kids will have more practice writing the number two!"

"Wow, you're a teacher through and through," he said with a chuckle. "When the first thing you think of is your students, you know you couldn’t quit being a teacher even if you wanted to."

I suppose he's right. If you're not convinced that I'm a teacher based on my excitement over the new year because of a number change, I have a few other ways that might persuade you:

• I can't walk through a store without finding some product that would be perfect for an art or science project.
  
  
• I have to take the longest route possible through stores with an art isle just so I won't spend all my money on art supplies.
  
  
• I can't walk through a bookstore without ending up in the children's section.
  
  
• I don’t throw away anything before considering how I might be able to use it for something as simple as counting or sorting.
  
  
• I always have to stop and look at (and nearly always buy) a new sheet or two of stickers every time I get the chance.
  
  
• I raid other people's houses for box-tops, recycled cans, or pop can tabs.
  
  
• I have to literally force myself to deviate from stores like the Dollar Tree. I can spend way too much money there.
  
  
• Walking past the dollar spot at Target I almost always purchase at least six things.
  
  

It's apparent that putting my students first both during and after school will always be a part of me. I'm not sure how I would function any other way.

Happy New Year!

Self-concept.

The year has finally come to a close. Last Friday, my Kindergartners and I joyfully looked back on all that we’ve accomplished. As they finalized their last journal entry, we put together a notebook which contained every entry since the beginning of school. This was an exciting moment for them. Observing the beginning of their journals, which typically consisted of random letters and included no structure, many of them were confused by what they had written. “What’s this say, Miss Molly?” they questioned.

At this point, I was eager to point out their progress. It turned out to be an automatic confidence booster as they turned each page and saw the improvement they had made over the course of the year. Here I realized that portfolios are my biggest tool to supporting their self-esteem. At this age, they will not always recognize achievements on their own, and as they progress academically and even socially throughout a school year, it becomes my role as the educator to recognize individual accomplishments.

My feedback, evaluations, encouragement, communication, and overall environment that I establish will attribute to how students feel about their abilities. Before self-esteem can be built, students must be able to recognize their individual accomplishments and believe that personal success was because of their own actions. I recognize that having a positive self-concept is critical during the early years, knowing that how we view ourselves affects future ideas, feelings, decisions, actions, expectations, and general performance in life.

Keeping a portfolio of their previous work proved to be a great way for me to show students exactly how far they’ve come and how much they’ve accomplished. Besides overwhelming positive reinforcement and constant encouragement, the portfolios I keep will help students gain confidence in their work. If keeping a portfolio is but one more thing I can do to boost their self-esteem, then I will accept the importance of my role in attributing to self-concept and do all I can to support it.

Praise vs. Encouragement

When praise is given repeatedly, a child may learn to expect and rely on it. It also causes misinterpretation of your intent. Your child may begin to assume that your praise means approval, and likewise, the absence of praise means disapproval. It can lead to discouragement and fear to fail, whereas using encouragement can lead to acceptance of natural imperfections. To replace praise with encouragement, use phrases that put the emphasis on the child’s feelings and get rid of phrases that would indicate a personal opinion. Using a phrase such as, “You should be proud of yourself,” instead of “I am proud ofyou,” shows lack of judgment, yet is still found supportive and encouraging.

It is natural for a child to experience the “I can do it” feeling and is something that should be encouraged. A parent’s natural tendency when a child does something pleasing is to say, “Good job,” however this actually shows judgment. It ultimately limits the child’s ability to be proud of his or her own work. It shows an assessment of what the child does and an opinion that you were pleased. The more praise occurs, the more the child will look for ways to please you. They will then come to you for approval, and will fail to be satisfied with what they do for his or her own sake. Replacing praise words with encouraging phrases such as “You did it,” will promote a healthy sense of accomplishment.

Over-praising can lead to neglect in personal gain. Eventually, a child will not appreciate a task as much and leave an activity they could otherwise have benefited from. Their filter can quickly become doing it for someone else’s satisfaction rather than their own. Knowing this, we see that the greatest benefit comes from personal satisfaction and not the satisfaction of others. When assisting in tasks, try making observations such as, “You made a tall tree,” instead of saying “I like your picture.” A child will still feel loved and supported through their own learning without feeling the need to hear a good opinion.