“I am Dumb”….says who?
Just today in class as we were having a short break and as my back was turned I heard a female student say to another.
” I am just dumb…I have always been dumb ”
As the class in question are studying Personal and Professional Development I took the opportunity to stop them in their tracks and ask who had made the comment. When the student identified herself it gave me the ideal opportunity to highlight the fact that all of us have a mental picture of who we are, how we look, what we’re good at, and what our weaknesses might be.
At this period of time this female student had a low mental image of her academic abilities.
Her mental picture of herself had been formed over time, as she move through Junior school and Senior school to where this young adult was right now …close to embarking out in her career.
This mental picture of who we are is called our self-image and is based on interactions we have with other people and our life experiences.
Our Self-esteem is not only about how much we feel valued, how we feel loved and accepted, by others — but also how much we value, love, and accept ourselves. This is an aspect that teenagers struggle with. It is a stage in their lives when they are trying to work out who they are and what is their purpose and consequently many teenagers struggle with their self esteem.
I often marvel at the effect it has on teenagers when I tell them that it is very common at their age to be selfish.
“Its just where you are at right now…so to speak”
“At this time in your life everything is is all about you”
Their lives are focused on themselves and it is alright to be like that for now.
It is amazing the effect it has on teenagers When I tell them this. I also tell them that I know knowing about their past. I know nothing about the exams they have failed or where they have gone wrong if they have.
All I know of them is what I see in front of me now.
If they want to achieve top marks then that is what I see and what I see is what I believe in.
I remind them that everyone’s self-image changes over time, self-esteem is not fixed for life. So if you feel that your self-esteem isn’t all it could be, you can improve it.
I also remind them that in our class …
”NO ONE IS DUMB”…….not even the teacher!
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