Behind Tab #3: Positive Self-Talk

Instead of... Teaching Purely Instructional Material, Try... Teaching Some Emotional and Social Skills.

The more I teach, the more I realize what a deficit students have in positive self-talk. I take for granted the skills my parents embedded in my upbringing. How many times have my parents talked me through "tough" situations, giving me step-by-step instructions for any obstacle that I faced at the time. Even when I would come home with a school project that I wasn't quite sure how to complete, my parents would assure me that I was capable and always had succeeded before, so why wouldn't I be successful again? How wonderful is that? To grow up in a support system that is embedded with encouragement and belief in my inherent ability.

Unfortunately, many people do not have that system in place. Students come to school with a lot of baggage, and even those with good homes aren't always receiving the amounts of positive reinforcement that they could use. So, I have tried to integrate positive self-talk mini-lessons into the curriculum. The lessons are age-appropriate and based on the idea that students can empower themselves to overcome any obstacle whether that is surviving math class, the bullies in the hallway, or the loneliness that plagues them at home.

One lesson that I use is listed below:

I get the conversation started, and then I let them come up with their own. If they don't come up with all of these, I end up adding some of them. One that I always add is: Instead of "I don't know," Try thinking, "I will find out / I will write down what I do know."

As an added thought, my students are high schoolers, and they generally accept these lessons. Once in awhile I get mumbles or "this is stupid/babyish," but I just ignore it until a future lesson where I address insecurities and why things seem stupid but are necessary.