Self Esteem and School Performance
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Conditions for children in today's schools are quite different from those of students of even two generations ago. A very high percentage of children presently live in urban environments and attend urban schools, resulting in many factors associated with urban living that contribute to self-esteem difficulties for today's young children. Often the ecology of the child's life is not necessarily positive. The home or school may be situated in an unattractive, noisy environment, making it difficult for a child to relax and feel at ease (Rutter, 1981, p. 614). Other conditions affecting an urban child's esteem level may include addiction disorders within the family and environment, personal overcrowded conditions, breakdown of community ties, fragmented extended families and social relationships, information overload, crime and alienation, dual career families, and the increased incidence of single-parent families (Rutter, 1981, p. 622). All of these influences make the experience of the young child quite a challenge as he or she attempts to cope with a complex personal life in the setting of school. Schools have, historically, been rather slanted towards the values of the upper middle class, and children coming from families that have conflicting values may experience difficulties in determining what is best for them to do in the school situation. If their parents hold values that do not nurture intellectual or creative activities, indi
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imply has a different style of learning and being.
Astute curriculum planners who purport to value self-esteem must be sure that the aims of the administration, staff, and parents are absolutely congruent. If the school teachers say they value self-esteem but the administration is aiming for absolute dictatorial order, self-esteem will not be the result. According to McNeil and Wiles, the teaching philosophy of existentialism most highly values the awakening self and the knowledge of self in relation to society (1990, p. 60). If children are to learn to value themselves in a society that requires adaptation to quickly changing conditions, then the teachers, families, and students must all value the process of change more than factual knowledge. Children and teachers together can develop ways to solve problems that naturally come up as a result of experiencing things together in the classroom, and enhanced self-esteem is the result for everyone. A certain amount of order helps a child feel secure, but overly regimented classroom routines result in fear rather than self-esteem.
Research shows that involvement of the parents greatly increases children's self-esteem and success in school. When parents arrange conditions in the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
David Hamburg, Performance Conditions, McNeil Wiles, Carl Jung, Harlene Galen, Psychologist Bandura, Erik Erikson, Abraham Maslow, Aquarian Conspiracy, January Increasing, hamburg 1992, freiberg 1987, rutter 1981, broufenbrenner 1986, children day, self-esteem result, ferguson 1980, enhance self-esteem, today's children, value self-esteem,
Approximate Word count = 1927
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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