Teaching and Learning 

Supporting your child's confidence as a learner

Without support, learning can be a frustrating experience at times. A learner may have low self-esteem or believe that they are unable to learn or succeed at developing a skill or understanding a concept. This frustration can show itself in different ways. A learner may become easily upset or be anxious, they may seem bored or experience feelings of anger and sadness.

 

You may hear your child say the following or similar:

  • 'I can’t do this.'
  • 'I’m not smart enough.'
  • 'I’m dumb.'
  • 'What’s the point [of trying]?'
  • 'I keep trying but I just don’t get it.'
  • 'I’m bad at ________.'

You can help your child to replace this kind of thinking with more positive and constructive self-talk. This will build their self-confidence as a learner. It will help them see that they can be successful and therefore be more motivated to read, write or do maths, to persist and to try again.

 

Try getting your child to say the following or similar:

  • 'I don’t know how to do this … yet.'
  • 'That was hard, but I got through it and I have learned something by doing it.'
  • 'I know I'm making progress.'
  • 'Things only seem big and scary until you break them down into small steps and tick them off one at a time.'
  • 'This looks hard, but I know there are things I can do to start. When I can’t do anymore then I’ll ask for help.'

Kylie Nissen

Assistant Principal