Newsletter #5 

Self Esteem is a Result. 

We talk about self-esteem a lot in school. We’ve had staff meetings, staff training sessions, development sessions – all about student self-esteem, and how to improve it. 

Self-esteem isn’t something you tell someone. It also isn’t something that, if repeated, magically happens. A person’s sense of self and self-confidence are results of creation... of creating something. It almost seems to be that the people in charge of schools think that if we just tell students that they’re wonderful people, they’ll have a glowing sense of self and feel great about themselves. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. 

People gain self - worth by creating. Sensible children do not wish to be incomplete adults. There are no exceptions to that previous statement.   

There are tons of ways to make something. I try to do many small assignments throughout the year in class, culminating with a ‘portfolio’ of written work, and some art. That’s my method.   

There are tons of other things to do nowadays, especially with all the new avenues via technology. I urge students to create a blog via WordPress or blogger. It doesn’t have to be something massive. A paragraph a week gets you a good body of written work in one year. Starting a YouTube channel with spoken word content or artistic expression is easy. An online art portfolio is easy to make.   

These suggestions dovetail nicely with the way I do things in room 227. 

The mindset to change is from one of ‘passive’ to ‘active’. Instead of staring at a screen with someone else’s creation on it, make something for other people to read or look at.  

When all is said and done, you’ll have created something that is YOURS. It can be used as part of a resumé, or, more importantly, something to point to and say “That’s mine – I made that”. 

That’s how you build self-confidence and self-esteem. 

Sincerely, 

Douglas Marolla – English, MVHS, Room 227

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