One of the most difficult tasks for any teacher, whether beginner or experienced, is building self-esteem in students who clearly show a low level of confidence. The older the student, the more we struggle to build up his/her self-esteem, since we have to overcome several years of low personal opinion. The factors which cause low self-esteem are numerous and probably known to all of us: negative family atmosphere, absence of role models, taunting by peers, and lack of opportunities to demonstrate one's real skills.

The components of self-esteem are four: what he/she thinks of their personal value, the kind of work they do and its consequences, personal achievements or lack thereof, and, most importantly, what they believe other people think of them. Simply talking to the students with positive words will never be sufficient; the task requires the following from all teachers:

Observe and Evaluate

Pay attention to each child's demeanor. Their non-verbal language almost always reveals their attitude towards themselves. Are they slouching, keeping their head down, not looking at you in the eye, isolated, very few or no friends, or are they defiant, strutting with an apparently superior attitude?

The defiant child has not learned to trust adults, sometimes with good reasons. The isolated (from all other students) child may have been abused, or severely taunted as inferior, as dumb, as unskilled, by previous teachers (it happens, unfortunately) and by peers.

Regaining Trust

Your task as a teacher is to gain their trust, an arduous task indeed. Allow me the recent example of a diffident student who finally granted me his trust. I met Javier (not his name) approximately 2 years ago in my high school where he arrived as a shy, timorous freshman. After observing him for 3 months, I noticed that he occasionally wore the shirt of a famous Mexican soccer team. Since I am a former player, I thought I had found the key to his mental door of trust.

I started making conversation with him, after helping him out with his English essay, and discovered that the team he really admired was the Spanish Barcelona. I began mentioning some of the key players and how well the team had played that Sunday. Little by little, he opened up to me, until I discovered that he felt neglected in his family because he was the "sandwich" brother. He now confides in me by retelling almost every incident about his personal life. His grades are going up at the same time he accepts who he is and what he can and cannot do.

Successful Tasks, The Key To Self-Esteem

Any student can experience success in school, even when their low level of intelligence presents serious obstacles. Some of the disabled children (Learning Disabled, Health Impairments, Physical Disabilities, etc.) are especially susceptible to low self-esteem. They even believe that they incapable of learning. "I am dumb," is an expression that I have heard too often.

We, the teachers, have the mission to devise tasks that less gifted children can perform successfully. If these accomplishments are followed by congratulations (sincere and genuine), the student's self-esteem will shoot up immediately. Too often, schools and teachers devise lesson plans that expect the same from every child. That is a very serious mistake. We must differentiate not only in the way we present the material, but also adapt it to the time some students take to finish.

See Them Outside Of School

All children love physical and/or artistic activity and schools provide them with multiple opportunities. Take the time to go to their games or activities after school. You have no idea how happy they are to see their teacher on the sideline or in the audience. Talk to the parents and tell them how much progress Adrian has made in the last few weeks. They in turn will mention this to the student who will feel elated that his/her teacher talked to their parents in such a positive manner.

Patience and Time, Time and Patience

Yes, the task is arduous; do not expect immediate results. Do not even expect positive results in every case. Some children may have been damaged too much and need expert help (psychological). For every student for whom you have made a difference, there are many others who need your attention, your patience, and your time. Isn't teaching wonderful?

J.C. Sprenger has been teaching at a local high school for 6 years as a special education (inclusion) teacher. Before that, he was a university professor in Mexico (10 years) teaching English to Mexican students. He has a B.A. in psychology and a Master's in Education. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, he now makes his home in Brownsville, Texas. He has been a freelance writer for 15 years in newspapers and recently on the Internet.

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