Self-esteem as we know is a set of perceptions, thoughts, evaluations, feelings and tendencies of behaviors directed towards oneself, towards our way of being, and towards the features of our body and our character. In short: it is the perceptual evaluation of ourselves.
We must all begin to work on this concept in our children and students from the first years of life to prioritize the concept of themselves in them so that they affirm their personality and identity because we remember that everyone has a mental image of who they are and In that order, the most relevant aspects of his life are assumed and thus know which ones to pay attention to according to his strengths, limitations or weaknesses.
Currently many children suffer from a lack of self-esteem and this is a limitation that we have to face daily in the classroom with our students and in a certain case, self-esteem can sometimes be difficult to deal with when it has partially increased in their image. .
We must take into account that when children feel good about themselves, everything is a little easier for them and their parents. But low self-esteem is a big problem for children specifically in the development of their learning.
It is important to teach self-esteem from childhood. In this sense, the psychologist Walter Riso proposes to teach self-esteem through the development of several pillars, which I think are very important to strengthen self-esteem among which the following are mentioned: self-concept, self-image, self-reinforcement and self-efficiency, which will allow students to be stronger, brave and resilient.
¿Why will these pillars be essential to ensure a balanced and strong self-esteem in students?
Because through these pillars we can teach children to value themselves to love themselves and in turn implement healthy relationships away from emotional dependence and to discover the concept that they have of themselves.
Self-concept is the opinion that a person has about themselves, which is associated with a value judgment. It should be noted that self-concept is not the same as self-esteem, however their relationship is very close and one could not understand one without the presence for example of the other.
(Wikipedia)
In this sense, Walter Riso explains that self-concept refers to what you think of yourself, to the concept you have of yourself and this is really an essential responsibility to increase our mental health and our student learning, since the concept that is had of itself can be negative or positive, each one chooses which one to choose regardless of the damage it may cause.
There are several ways to promote the concept of self in our children that are worth developing
According to a theory known as the theory of social identity (developed by Henri Tajfel in the 1970s), self-concept is made up of two fundamental parts: personal identity and social identity. Both have to do with the construction of self-esteem and these influence and determine the mental health of each person.
In this way, it is essential to develop this type of element in the classroom to strengthen self-esteem in students
Self-image
Self-image is the value we have in relation to ourselves. It is not an assessment based on the visual aspect of our body, but it is a global estimate of who we are from our own point of view.
(wikipedia)
In this sense, the value that we give ourselves as a person will motivate or demotivate us to promote self-esteem, which will drive us to determine attitudes that will help us identify and develop as a social and integral being.
In this regard, Riso affirms that self-image, that is, how much you like yourself has been admired at all times as a special gift and ugliness has been very questionable. So the closest reference group and the relationships we establish with people are decisive to create the idea we have about our body and the evaluations we make of it.
Socrates, the Greek philosopher, also stated the following: know yourself. phrases very meaningful for the assessment of a person. Well, if we have valid knowledge about our individuality we can have the emotional stability that every individual yearns for.
From this it follows that the emotional factor in childhood is undoubtedly one of the essential aspects. Therefore, family and educational intervention in children is essential.
Self-reinforcement.
It consists of offering oneself positive consequences in a contingent way to the performance of a certain behavior. Many authors believe that reinforcing yourself for a job well done leads to higher levels of performance than simply setting goals and tracking progress.
To the respect Riso thinks that it is useless or absurd that the self occupies the last place in the affection that we are capable of giving, because if you never reward yourself and never give yourself time, your self-esteem will be null or insufficient.
In this vein, the self-reinforcement, according to Meichenbaum's cognitive-behavioral modification, insists that the key to success lies in self-management, that is, in the use by the individual himself of behavioral principles to modify his behavior. , reason enough for teachers to also implement and promote this element in the student learning process, since it is presumably that the Participation of students in their own learning involves a cognitive-behavioral approach applied to behavior modification, in which the use of self-instruction acquires great importance: students guide themselves, speak to themselves, repeating the steps they must give to perform a certain task.
Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy (or also the perception of efficacy) is the confidence in one's own ability to achieve the desired results. Psychologists have studied self-efficacy, from various perspectives, they point out various access routes in the development of self-efficacy; the dynamics of self-efficacy, and the lack thereof, in many different places; the interactions between self-efficacy and self-concept; and habits of attribution that contribute or impair self-efficacy.
(wikipedia)
In Riso's opinion, a low self-efficacy will lead you to think that you are not capable, and a high self-efficacy will make you feel confident of reaching your goals, or at least fighting for them.
In this sense, promoting self-efficacy in childhood and in the classroom contributes to the formation of stimulus to realize the desired and meaningful learning, in addition it will promote in students identity and conviction of what they really want, generating firmness and confidence.
References: teacher's website. CMF, wikipedia, educated mind blog.
