I recently visited a primary school and as I walked through the school hallway I noticed distinctive words on the pillars. What were they? My tour guide informed me these were the values they were working hard to instil in their pupils.
Self-esteem, compassion, kindness, responsibility, respect, trustworthiness and positivity were painted on the pillars.
As I carried on with my day, my mind kept going back to two words in particular: self-esteem and positivity.
These words struck me because as a child I had struggle with self-esteem, but I was extremely positive about life.
At a young age I believed all the mean things in the book about myself. I was under the impression I was obsese. I believed I was not beautiful, I was not smart. It felt as if nothing good could come of me.
My favourite quote for myself back then was “the only thing I am good at is ruining everything”.
The interesting thing was no one knew I was struggling with my self-esteem. All the mean things I believed about myself were what people had told me about myself.
I wonder now what would happen if values such as what I saw painted at this school had been taught in my school and every other school. Every learner would have respected, shown compassion and been kind to me and every other person.
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We would have taken responsibility to ensure no one was mean to another person. Perhaps this would have assisted in building my self-esteem, and thinking highly of myself.
There are many children out there going through things they do not understand because of what another child did to them.
I believe parents, teachers and the community should actively teach children these necessary values. And not just with words, but with actions. The little ones are watching and learn quicker that way.
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