How to Improve a Student's Self-Esteem
High self-esteem is necessary for students to regain composure after adversity or failure. When a student has low self-esteem, it drains them of their confidence and makes them doubt their ability to succeed.
Sadly, caregivers, parents, and teachers diminish students’ self-confidence by comparing them with others. Instead, they should focus on helping them grow their conviction.
Common ways to do this are targeting self-derogatory remarks at them or comparing them with their contemporaries doing better. Such actions result in low self-esteem, which doesn’t give students the needed motivation to undertake academic growth risks. There are many free this I believe essays at Graduateway which share some worthwhile inspirational publications for anyone seeking to increase their self-esteem. You can check out these essay examples to boost your confidence.
Below are practical tips on how to improve a student’s self-esteem.
Embrace a growth mindset
A growth mindset is a belief that abilities and intelligence have no limiting factors and that anyone can develop them over time. Anyone with the right attitude, determination, and focus can develop major abilities and skills.
Parents and teachers must understand this and also teach it to students. Students at the university or college levels also require a growth mindset if they must make any significant achievements in their education.
Children with a growth mindset develop high self-esteem and are always eager to learn or try new things. In addition to academic growth, such individuals have a higher tendency for real-life success.
Don't compare one student to another
Social comparison has many negative effects, not just in education. Comparing one student to another student with better academic performance is a quick way to lower their self-esteem.
Most times, it makes a student feel worse about themselves and completely lose interest in education or get depressed. If you must compare a student with another, only do so to motivate them and not taunt them.
Better still, assume a subtle approach by pointing out the other student's healthy learning routines. This can motivate a student to aim higher.
Create realistic expectations
Don’t ask a child in grade one to do complex mathematical exercises like calculus. This will result in repeated failure that will leave that child feeling worse about themselves. Of course, negative self-evaluation results in low self-esteem.
Before you create expectations for a child, here are important questions you should answer:
1. Is this expectation realistic with this particular child, at this age, and with this background and temperament?
2. Are these expectations in line with the needs of this child or with my wishes?
3. What purpose does it serve?
4. Am I being reasonable?
When expectations are realistic, success is easy. A feeling of success makes a student feel valuable and worthy of respect. It also gives the child the motivation required to tackle problems with increased complexities in the future.
Praise and acknowledge accomplishments
Celebrate their accomplishments if you're concerned about nourishing and encouraging a student's progress and growth. Such accomplishments don't necessarily have to be a terrific feat before they're deemed worthy of acknowledgment.
Praise and acknowledge accomplishments
Celebrate their accomplishments if you're concerned about nourishing and encouraging a student's progress and growth. Such accomplishments don't necessarily have to be a terrific feat before they're deemed worthy of acknowledgment.
No matter how big or small, praising children for their successes is important to their self-confidence. Children that constantly receive praise for their accomplishments are motivated to achieve more. They also develop an improved attitude towards life.
Make out time to celebrate the success of your students. More importantly, make sure there’s a reward attached to the celebration. Display tokens of a child’s achievements, such as awards, medals, certificates, trophies, etc., where they can see them. It could be all the motivation they need daily.
However, teach them to always strive for more and never get overly complacent with past accomplishments.
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Conclusion
Students with high self-esteem tend to feel valuable and worthy of respect. They are also motivated to learn and improve at any given opportunity. As parents/teachers, resist the urge to use abusive words on them or compare them with students with better grades.
Create realistic expectations and intentionally praise students for their little improvements and accomplishments. It motivates them to strive for more. Lastly, teach them to develop a growth mindset. It’s important both to their academic and everyday lives.