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Self-esteem is an essential quality of a successful student. A student without confidence in their own ability to learn will not learn to their full potential. A student without self-confidence can be an easy target for bullies and will seldom take risks reaching out socially or academically. Taking these types of chances gives students opportunities to grow, so this growth is limited in kids with a lower self-esteem.

By integrating ideas of acceptance, tolerance, and personal safety into our daily teaching, we can arm students with the confidence to learn anything. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t--you’re usually right.” This week, I am looking at resources and activities that will help students think they can.

Last spring, a high school teacher from Massachusetts made international headlines when he told the graduating seniors that they were “not special.” In his address, David McCullough, Jr. told the graduating class that despite their “pampered, cosseted, [and] bubble-wrapped” lives, “You are not special. You are not exceptional.” Taken out of context, some excerpts of McCullough’s speech raised eyebrows.

Maybe it was the growling of my stomach as I began writing this post. Maybe it was watching the 3 reams of paper go through the copy machine: worksheets destined for student desks, and ultimately, the trash. Either way, when I started researching creative methods for teaching students about continents, I looked for engaging and meaningful activities that would leave students with a lasting curiosity about how the earth came to look the way it looks today. Many students have learned about this topic on a very basic level, so I was looking for resources that would challenge students of all ages and skill levels to make learning connections with other subjects.

Every year, a new crop of students begins to learn about the continents. In the U.S. and Canada, students learn that there are seven continents, while students in some other countries may learn that there are as few as five or six continents (with North and South America combined into a single continent, called “the Americas”, and/or Asia and Europe combined into “Eurasia”). They learn about the distinguishing features of continents, such as the topography, geology, native plants and animals, and so forth. They also learn that, despite their massive size, the continents are constantly in flux.

The beginning of the school year is filled with high hopes. Teachers have plans to teach their students everything they need to know for the year, and students are coming out of summer vacation rested and ready to learn. Parents are counting on schools to provide their kids the appropriate education for their grade. They are hoping their kids will be ready for next grade when it’s time to move on, and, more importantly, they want them to be fully prepared for college by the end of high school.

In 2004, a report entitled Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts was released by the American Diploma Project. The report was the culmination of several years’ work, with data collected from hundreds of high school teachers, college professors, and managers from U.S. corporations. The report concluded that American high school graduates are falling far short of the expectations placed on them by the workplace, and by colleges and universities.

Many of our recent discussions on the Gateway have centered on a multi-disciplinary or “whole child” approach to teaching and learning. Resources that look at one topic through the lens of many different subject areas are very useful to elementary school teachers and to secondary teachers who are working with colleagues to unite learning across different subjects. Creating a successful set of lessons that stresses these connections is a time consuming process. Using quality online resources will allow you to spend your valuable time being a teacher and a mediator.

One of my absolute favorite units as a middle school student was mythology. Since we were learning about ancient civilizations in Social Studies, my Social Studies teacher and English teacher developed the unit together. Although we focused primarily on Greek mythology, we also touched briefly on mythological allusions in books such as The Lord of the Rings and in films such as Star Wars, and the role of the archetypal hero.

Philanthropy: a deliberate affection for mankind, shown in contributions of money, property, or work for the benefit of others

Voluntary giving isn’t necessarily a natural action. From a young age, children need to be taught to share, and to learn that the act of giving has its own rewards. For many years, kids still find it much more pleasurable to receive money and gifts rather than to give them away, but eventually, most learn that doing a good turn for others can feel pretty amazing.