Sunday, June 24, 2007
An Idea to Raise Self-Esteem
Here is an idea from the school where I did my field experience. It greatly boosted the self-esteem of a French speaking fifth grader from the Caribbean who has been in New Jersey for several years. Every morning the principal would have a different student say the Pledge of Allegiance and the school pledge, which is an upbeat affirmation about achieving excellence. One morning the principal had the fifth-grader say the school pledge in English and then repeat it in her native French. Everyone was impressed. The principal complimented her over the loudspeaker, and when we saw her in class and praised her, she was very happy to get the positive reinforcement. The other students showed her great respect. Moments like this can be small gestures that mean a lot to an ELL.
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Hi Terry, I could identify with this. Something similar happens (show of pride) when students from Haiti learn an English song, and are able to translate it to French Creole. In fact last year my class had to take part in the First Friday Mass, and the entrance song that they sung was first done in English then French. Every one was impressed and all the Haitian children in the school were on a "HIGH" for the entire day. They made lots of positive comments about our fifth grade class' singing in French, and you should see the pride in their eyes. Some children still talk about it. I never would have imagined that everyone would have such a reaction to it.
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