How to Help Students Enhance Self-Esteem

The self-esteem of a child has a significant impact on how he interacts with others, engages in classroom activities and deals with challenges. Low self-esteem can take a toll on children’s performance. His/Her desire to learn, focus and willingness to take risks may go down drastically. Therefore, teachers in elementary schools must come up with effective techniques to enhance the self-esteem and the overall confidence of their students. How to help students enhance self-esteem.

One of the best ways to handle children with low self-esteem is to give them positive encouragement when they perform classroom tasks or excel in exams. Children are often sensitive and receptive to feedback from adults, including their teachers. As a teacher, you can take advantage of this and shower them with praises even in cases where they do not succeed. However, you need to do this in moderation. Sometimes an honest opinion can help if done smoothly.

Children, especially those who have autism, often have challenges with identifying a specific area of learning they are good at. They feel overwhelmed and are unable to enjoy themselves in class, like others. Low self-esteem sets at the moment these children begin to feel out of place. As a teacher, you must help them find what they are good at. You can ask their parents what they like to do at home and how they behave. From this, you can deduce an effective program to maximize their strengths and boost their self-confidence.

Though you have no power to change the entire syllabus, there are some aspects of classroom work that are within your control. For instance, most assignments are done within the class and do not require any form of supervision from the school’s management or the course tutor. You can allow them to have a say on the type of classwork or homework they would like to do. This will enhance the good relationship between you and them. Also, being democratic makes them feel like they are valued in the class. This will boost their self-confidence and self-esteem dramatically.

Dealing with misfortunes is one of the key elements of self-esteem programs for children. Children who fail exams after many trials usually feel demoralized and disinterested in learning. As a teacher, you should be in a position to help them appreciate that it is of human nature to fail sometimes and that it is a normal part of learning. Tell them the story of Abraham Lincoln, and how he lost seven elections before becoming the president of the United States. Help them develop strategies for improvement in the next exams. Encourage them to work harder and be there to support them wherever possible.

Most professionals at kids helpline always correct children who present inaccurate perceptions about themselves. You can borrow a leaf from them and shun those negative beliefs. If the children are obsessed with perfection, it is upon you as the teacher to let them know that is okay to make mistakes. If the children are convinced that they can never perform well in class, tell them it is possible to achieve anything they want if they work harder and accept more accurate standards of learning. Correcting such beliefs will help the children have a healthy self-concept.

While it is okay to hold the children accountable in a class by setting goals for them, you need to be realistic. The goals must be time-bound, measurable and achievable. You can enhance their self-esteem by setting short-term goals that are achievable. Like any other person, children will feel good about themselves once they achieve the goals you set for them on time. If you have a larger project, ensure you break it down into small bits to allow them to work on it without losing interest. This will make them feel more empowered and also enable you to intervene and rectify a problem easily.

You need to reward the students for any good work they do. A reward is a good way to motivate them and make them want to achieve more. Hence, it does not only enhance self-esteem but also boosts productivity. Apart from class performance, provide rewards for extracurricular activities. Encourage them to participate in volunteer programs in the neighbourhood. Studies show that those who volunteer show higher levels of happiness and self-esteem.

Building students confidence, which then culminates to higher self-esteem, is essential for teachers, especially those in elementary schools. Self-esteem is the source of happiness, improved concentration and good performance in class. You do not go for lessons on how to teach self-esteem. The tips discussed above will provide you with every information you need. After all, there’re many opportunities to be a teacher in Thailand and don’t forget to learn everything you need to know before teaching in Thailand.