I was recommended to watch ‘Find Me a Family’, a programme on BBC1 which followed seven children around Northern Ireland’s care system as they tried to find new families.
One of the girls, called Shannon, was 18 and so was coming out of the foster-care system. She was on a residence order which meant that when she turned 18, her residency with the people she was staying with was over and she had to move out. While being interviewed she commented that she felt like she didn’t belong to anyone. I immediately started questioning what must this poor girl’s self esteem be like? I believe that this would all potentially have a permanent damaging effect on her confidence and her self worth.
It also broke my heart to hear on the show that when a ten year old, William, went to meet his birth mother she sat on her phone for most of the time. I can’t even begin to comprehend what sort of person would treat their own child like that, but I am not here to judge others.
Reflecting on last week’s lectures on personality, self concept and self esteem, I started to think about the role of teachers the lives of children who have been through things like Shannon and William. In my teaching career there is a very high possibility that I will be working with kids like Shannon and William and so I believe it is therefore my duty to be a role model to them. I want to create an environment of trust and safety in my classroom so that all my pupils will be comfortable. I want to develop trusting relationships with all my pupils so that they know I am always there for them and they can tell me anything. I will listen to them, treat them with dignity and respect to try to promote the self-esteem of all my class. I will encourage my pupils to treat everyone equally and be kind to each other.
I am sure there are more things I could do to promote my pupils’ self esteem, if anyone has any suggestions please comment them below!
The link to ‘Find Me a Family’ is below (only the second episode is available on iPlayer on the date I write this post- 13/11/2015) :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06kxp2w/find-me-a-family-episode-2
It’s a real eye-opener, isn’t it? Very worth reflecting on, and carrying with you as you move into the profession.
It really is an eye-opener, as I realised after watching it that I lived in quite a ‘bubble’. I was reminded to keep in mind the circumstances that some of my pupils may live in.
Indeed, same sentiments as Fi. One of the biggest lessons that I learned when I started teaching was that not everyone shares the same world view or experience. It also made me realise that caring loving upbringing that I had where I was valued, fed, clean and even taken on holidays was not what everyone experiences. This realisation cemented even more in me my sense of social justice and commitment to the affective and cognitive development of all my learners when they were in my care.