The unintended results of the Self-Esteem Movement are: Apathy/Passivity, Desensitisation and Dependence.
How are you seeing the impact of the Self-Esteem Movement expressed in the students you are engaging with?
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The impact of the self-esteem movement, I have noticed is, if they do not do well, it is usually someone else’s fault.
I see exactly as you said.The more I ask them to rise and stretch they sulk but they do actually work to achieve better results.
It’s an interesting concept and how we help to encourage and guide our students is so important. Pushing and encouraging those with low self esteem. Guiding and encouraging the self motivated.
Yes we see it across so many ages groups and cultures in Tertiary education
I think it is all about giving them the tools and motivation for self discovery!
Yes it will be great to hear what these tools are
When I provide support to students their teacher always thanks me afterwards telling me how much I helped to improve their students’ confidence and low self-esteem. I appreciate the feedback, but honestly, I thought I was just showing them how to use software/technology/print/upload an assessment or whatever the issue was.
You do much more than that! Support teachers provide that extra 1:1 support that can really make a student! Congratulations!
I’ve had so many students with incredibly low self-esteem and self-worth. By not accepting their excuses, by following up and pushing them along without doing it for them….they have sent me photos of them holding their certificate and thanking me for not giving up on them.
Saying that this was the first certificate they ever got….great feeling for both parties involved.
Thats great! So important to push our students1
There is an increase in mental health issues and low self esteem within students. They are certainly fixed on approval & reassurance at every step of the way. Parental influences even choice of course at TAFE to ensure students are not overly challenged.
In todays society it is very hard to know how best to raise your kids! (although probably all generations felt like this!)
It’s really mesmerizing I think it will be so good and I like it. Thank you
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Sometimes I see it as a product of competitiveness, whether positive or negative and sometimes it is just a character strength that is underdeveloped or overdeveloped.
Students tend to be righteous about validating the need to not perform as normal. Excuses are easily used and life’s little challenges become ‘mountain like’ instead of a minor bump to accept and move on.
Exactly thats a great point! They think the small blip is a mountain when all it is, is a little hill to climb. Helping some see that is the challenge
After working in the adult learning sector for numerous years with challenging environments for eight years in Juvenile Justice and three in rehab for drugs and alcohol (both environments the students resided in the learning environments) with the result of the social programming the strategies that have worked is about taking responsibility (even down to changing a toilet roll should it end on their watch) which in turn assists in building a stronger character progression and creates a platform within their character to build resilience in their life journey. we often separated behavior to give them a platform to change their behavior by saying as an example ” you are a good person however your behavior on this occasion needs your work to fix it) I believe mollycoddling is not the way as it sets the student up for a life of learned helplessness.
Yes, learnt helplessness hinders
I feel like the perception that these students don’t try and they are apathetic is born from the students’ knowledge that working hard no longer equals success in the future, as it did for previous generations. I think it is more a sense of hopelessness with how the world is going to treat them, and less a sense of a movement instigated by the generation that blames them for behaviours they themselves have instilled in the next generation. Their failures are also more to be feared now, as they are more public. We think the previous generations had more resilience, but perhaps the level is the same, and the challenges are harder – the amount of resilience has not changed, but the amount needed to navigate the world has increased.
That said, I do advocate for growth mindset to be implemented in schools and tertiary education institutions. It would help the educators as much as the students, as elder millenials have been teaching for 10+ years now.
I agree, I think positive psychology and positive education is where we should focus.
I do have to agree. Our politicians making comments around…”if you have a go you’ll get a go” sends the message that if you are not succeeding in finding suitable work etc it is your fault as you must not be trying hard enough.
Life is very challenging today but I also think that a growth mindset should be implemented in all learning environments.
On-line is a fact of life with teaching after the Covid experience-where do we go from here to advance these teaching methods? Interesting that many students would rather relate to class activities with DMs rather than voice/video
Resilliance is an important
Yes, I would agree that building resilience is imperative for success in their life journeys
Building resilience is key
I am witnessing the impact of the Self-Esteem Movement expressed in the students I engage with through; their apathy toward learning, or education &/or engagement with others, in the areas they are not interested in, the disregard of due dates of assessments, the dependence of placing the blame on someone/something else, & looking for someone else to do the hard work or fix it!!
I’m also finding units on self esteem are becoming quite common in courses in the Certificate II level.
They require more support, assistance, guidance and multiple attempts. All in all = less try.
Agree Michelle,less self initiative is evident.
In my experience (over 2 decades of teaching), I have noticed the increase in appeals from failing students; questioning and challenging the outcome. Unsurprisingly, the same students also fail to apply themselves to their studies.
I agree Visnja, I also see this trend on the rise.
Ditto
yes, I have witnessed this also the student needs more support and individual education plans
I agree, it is true if there is no desire to advance
In recent years I have found that children have been mollycoddled- they expect to be hand held through all types of learning, have not got the need to research for themselves and always need praise. We as teachers are told to be very sensitive to their needs. They do not expect to be marked as unsatisfactory and its always the teachers fault. There are the exceptional students who are forward thinking but in the minority.
Often this is the case in my cohort also, and more so on a yearly basis.