Oh how I used to love my back to school supply list. For me, it was an official form that said, "Hey mom, dad, you must buy me new stuff!!!" It was finally a sure fire way to get to go shopping, and I wasn't alone.
Year after year, as the first day of school approached, school supply stores were flooded, often having more people than products to sell. It was then that I realized that this back to school list was pretty well-respected. Even struggling parents would make a sincere effort to buy, borrow or recycle the supplies needed to get their children through the upcoming school year. It's powerful and dreadfully incomplete.
Self-esteem and self confidence should top the list of requirements for kids and teens each school year, but it doesn't make the list at all. The reason seems to be that, quite frankly, parents and teachers don't know where self-esteem and confidence come from. Where would they get it? How would they instill it? As long as they remain off the list, they will continuously be overlooked as an essential tool for academic success.
So, what is Self-Esteem and what is Confidence?
Self esteem is simply the way you think and feel about yourself. Confidence is the way in which you carry and display your self-esteem, it's an attitude and a behavior.
If think positively about yourself and feel good about your abilities and are able to project that in your day to day operations (in school and life) - then you most likely have great self-esteem and confidence.
How does this impact our kids?
Kids and teens who think highly of themselves and feel good about who they are (high self-esteem) tend to project confidence academically and socially. They may have lots of friends, play sports and join clubs. Most importantly, they typically have good grades and are not targeted for bullying. Conversely, they typically get no joy or fulfillment from bullying others. It seems to me that self-esteem and confidence are vital parts of the back to school list that lead to better grades and overall performance, more than any yellow highlighter or book cover I ever heard of!
So what now?
We teach the teachers, the parents and the teens where self-esteem comes from and how to instill it in. We encourage principals to invite self-esteem experts and motivational speakers to teach the power and disconnectedness of productive thoughts, focus, self-esteem, confidence, anti-bullying and school performance.
You want "A" schools, teach the teachers.
You want happy homes, teach the parents.
You want successful leaders, teach the kids.
Check out TheSelfEsteemDoctor.com. Great resources including the book Everyone is Perfect and the amazing SELFIE Workshop!
What are you doing this summer? Join us! Help get self-esteem and confidence on back-to-school lists nationwide.
Love and light.
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