Self Esteem Workshop |
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Program StatementOur "Self-Esteem Workshop" at El Camino High School is offered on a voluntary basis to "At-Risk" students. The purpose of this workshop is to change the concept "At-Risk" students have of school and to improve their self-esteem. I meet with twenty students each semester, presenting the goals and objectives of our self-esteem program. The workshop has averaged fifteen students per semester to volunteer to attend an after school class where mandatory attendance and grades do not exist. I learn each student's name and recognize them with a handshake or other greeting from the first until the last session. In addition to changing their concept of student-teacher relations, each class is started with each their favorite snack which is usually pizza. These strategies are used each session in order to structure a learning environment that allows the instructors to implement techniques for the development of self-esteem. When the workshop is completed, each student receives an award recognizing their achievement.
Program DescriptionThe individual strategies include daily recognition by the instructor, reward in the form of food each session, peer counseling by specially selected students, self-esteem instruction by the teacher, and a reward in the form of a plaque at the completion of the workshop. The measurement of the student's self-esteem is determined by a reliable and valid pre and post inventory test. At the completion of six two-hour sessions over a two-week period, the students can then see the growth in their self-esteem or the areas that seem to be affecting their happiness. The self-esteem instruction by the teacher and peer counselor includes definitions of self-esteem and its importance, values clarification and verbalization by students, video case studies on acting out low and high self-esteem, parents and conditioning, identification of major stresses in their lives, and a list of practical technique students can use to maintain self-esteem. At the completion of the two-week workshop, each student is given an engraved plaque recognizing their achievement by the principal. The ultimate hope is that we have given these students enough personal strength to turn their lives around. Our program has been awarded the San Mateo County school branch association J. Russell Kent exemplary program award for excellence.
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