How Can a Teacher Foster Self-Esteem?

Not too long ago my preschool-aged son made a comment about his required vegetable intake, and his comment included a word not allowed on network television. That word rhymes with "it." Of course, I was mortified. My husband was mortified. We would like to consider ourselves polite people who do not talk like sailors at the dinner table...or ever! But somewhere along the way, our kid heard that word and decided it would be a good time to use it. It was a low parenting moment, and frankly we were relieved that no one else heard it. (Now that I'm admitting it on the internet...hmmm.)

But the truth is, it was probably just a textbook example of social cognitive theory at work in the world. What you see (or hear, in his case) is what you learn. 

I appreciated Dr. Scheuermann's reminder of this principle in the context of literacy--showing kids how we re-read, stop to consider facts vs. opinions, and picking out main ideas in the text all jump starts a process they might not initiate naturally (Scheuermann, 2016). 

Modeling a positive environment is another essential component of a teacher's work, and the same social effect takes place when we show kids how to be kind at school. By observing uplifting, positive behaviors in the classroom, good self esteem takes deep roots. This means the spirit of the learning community must be one that is encouraging rather than shaming, forgiving rather than begrudging, hopeful rather than bleak, and restorative rather than destructive. 

Carl Rogers' research supports this idea: "For students identified as having learning difficulties, the teacher’s level of interpersonal facilitation was the single most important contributor to the amount of gain on all outcome measures" (Rogers, n.d.). Getting yelled at makes anyone feel crummy, whether you are a second grader struggling with fractions or a corporate lawyer on a conference call. If teachers can cultivate a sense of safety and personal care, then every student will be honored and feel safe enough to take the risks necessary to do the hard work of learning. It's not surprise a student who feels he belongs, no matter his learning needs, will be more successful.

It's not realistic for any teacher to have a perfect 10 on the communication scale every day, but by making the tone of one's teaching a main priority, kids will observe not just the academic skills they need to develop to be successful in school, but the social and emotional maturity they need to be healthy members of society. 

Rogers sums it up beautifully: "The research evidence clearly indicates that when students’ feelings are responded to, when they are regarded as worthwhile human beings capable of self-direction, and when their teacher relates to them in a person-to-person manner, good things happen" (Rogers, n.d.).  

References

Rogers, C. (No date). Teacher Effects Research on Student Self-Concept. Retrieved via R. Scheuermann's EDU 6526 Session 8: Albert Bandura and Social-Cognitive Learning. Retrieved from: https://bbweb03.spu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1129497-dt-content-rid-2467018_1/courses/EDU6526_27922_201562/SIS%20Session%208%20Reading%20%28Rogers%29.pdf

Scheuermann, R. (2016). Session 8: Albert Bandura and Social-Cognitive Learning. Retrieved from: https://bbweb03.spu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1129496-dt-content-rid-2467017_1/courses/EDU6526_27922_201562/SIS.%20Session%208%20Outline%20%28Social-Cognition%29.pdf