"Teachers are Like Mirrors"

My name is Meredith Drawdy, and I am a Sophpmore at the Universtity of South Carolina. I am majoring on Middle Level Education, and I want to be a Math teacher. This is my Inquiry Project for my EDPY 401 class.

"Teachers Are Like Mirrors"

     Today students have many pressures in their lives to do well in school, have friends, and fulfill their life expectations. “Self-esteem is a major key to success in life,” and it is up to educators to help provide good self-esteems in our students. I used to believe that teachers just taught students a certain subject, but teachers give students key factors in succeeding as people. Parents also play a huge role in how a child views themselves, but teachers can prove to them that they are worthy and can thrive as individuals.  

     A student’s behavior is mirrored through their esteem. What we as teachers reflect back to students becomes the bases of their self-image which influences their lives. A student’s self-esteem is highly associated to a student’s success. This is great information considering a teacher can not really have an affect in raising their IQ level, but they can have an immense impact on their self-esteem by praising them and letting them know they are worthy.

     Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, includes esteem in his Hierarchy of Needs. Students want to be respected just as much as teachers do. Students must appoint themselves to feel they make a contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued with their lives. Maslow says one can not have esteem without respect for others which in return gives them respect in them producing a good self-worth. Being treated with respect, makes one want to respectful back, but also makes a child have self-efficacy as well; therefore they know they can accomplish their aspirations. One of the most prized gifts teachers can give a child is developing their self-dignity and resilience, and it is our responsibility to give students the tools to succeed in school and in their lives.