Guiding Students to Believe in Themselves

Almost no one enjoys being unsuccessful. It is an inherent human trait to desire to excel, to be great at something, to be in control of one's own abilities. This concept has deep roots in the academic world. Students who do poorly in school, who do not believe they are capable of improving, or who have been told that they simply "aren't good at school" tend to have negative attitudes about school. They aren't motivated to go to class simply because they assume they are going to fail. Before they even step through the doorway, those students automatically put themselves one step behind. These attitudes are through no fault of their own, for the most part. Some people claim that "those" students just don't care. I believe that they are wrong. Life's circumstances and situations that affect our students are different in each and every case. They come to school with a lot more than just their backpacks. Our students are human; humans desire to do better, to be better. They do not want to struggle in school; they desire to succeed. That is where teachers come into the picture. We can be that spark that ignites an entire new world of possibilities, or just a heightened interest in school. Either way, it's worth the challenge.

Chapter 6 in Content Area Reading is titled "Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest." It discusses how to engage students so that they come to enjoy learning, and, perhaps more importantly, to believe in themselves. Teachers control the lesson plan. Curriculum may be forcibly put on our desks, but we are in charge of how the material that needs to be covered will be taught. The possibilities are nearly endless (within the confines of time and resources). Each classroom is a tiny society within the larger context of school. The authors of the chapter my class read encouraged and challenged teachers to help all of our students to develop self-efficacy. That means that students believe in themselves. They think "I can" instead of "This is stupid/difficult/you fill in the blank." But how can we help students to bridge that gap, especially when they have struggled in school for years?

The answer lies in motivation. If a student is motivated, they will take ownership of their learning, and that makes whatever they are learning incredibly meaningful. A key point of motivation is relevance. Learning should be based on what students already know. Prior knowledge is of HUGE importance in learning because it provides a stable foundation for new learning and a concrete reference point. If students have a reference point, learning new concepts or information is much easier. They make connections to their own lives and that only adds meaning to what is being taught! In addition, reference points can be springboards for educators. We can take a that reference and weave other perspectives, create challenges that our students have to resolve, stir up discussion, questions, and interests, and make learning so much more than memorization and preparation for filling in bubbles on a test sheet.

Learning is a life-long tool. It's a wonderful gift and it should not be taken lightly. As educators, we hold the power to engage our students or to watch as their attention and desire to learn fades into nothing more than a shadow of what it could be. Our tools are tried and true strategies, creativity, experience, advice, scaffolding, communication skills, and whatever else we bring as individuals. Our goal is to arouse the bottomless pit of curiosity and imagination that spring from our students' minds and are waiting to be tapped into. It's an intimidating task, but it's worth the effort. We have the power to touch lives. Let's be sure not to waste it!