EdTalk | Confidence is the key to great achievement
To help children succeed, it is vital to praise them for what they can do, and not find fault over what they can’t. Trying – and mastering – a new activity feeds a virtuous circle that spills over into other skills and subjects
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence” said Helen Keller, the first deaf and blind person to graduate with a bachelor’s degree over a century ago. I couldn’t agree more with her sentiments. I strongly believe that every child can achieve success by building up their confidence.
Firstly, it is important to praise what they can do, and not find fault about what they cannot do.
However, overusing praise does not help a child’s development. Instead, you should comment on how well something has been done when it is worthy of mention. As in all things, a balance must be struck – too much and it becomes worthless, too little and the effect is limited.
In education, labelling children from a young age is inhibitory to a child’s development. Once you identify a child as being at one level, you run the risk of limiting progress and not extending them sufficiently.
Every child is an individual who is unlikely to be equally good at all subjects and display universally equally high skills. Every child is good at something or has particular skills in whole or in part. It is the job of every teacher and parent to find them and develop them fully.
