Jennifer, a mom who reads my blog, wrote about what happened to her little boy:
My middle child went to kindergarten last year at what was supposed to the best public school in the best school district in Kansas, which is one of the top states in the country. He is a kinesthetic learner with incredible spatial skills, but is a slow learner when it comes to reading. Watching his classmates “get it” while he struggled, killed his self confidence. His teacher progressed through the curriculum according to plan, and my boy was left behind. Not only did he finish kindergarten not reading, but he did not believe himself to be capable of reading. His teacher NEVER raised with us any concerns about his reading—I’m not certain whether she even realized that he was struggling, because he is not the type to ask for help. Here we are now, homeschooling, half-way through 1st grade, and he is just now becoming confident enough in his reading ability to read to someone besides me. He still insists that he can’t read, but he’s reading cereal boxes, and he can answer for me when his little brother asks, “What does that say?”! Yes, he is behind where other kids with his same manufacturing date range might be, but he is a unique little person who is learning and growing every day and I am proud of him and the progress he has made!
My heart sinks when I read comments like hers, because I have seen this happen too many times. And usually to boys, as they tend to be very hands-on and reading and writing comes later for them. Just the thought of a kindergarten boy struggling to grip that pencil correctly and manipulate it to form legible letters is distressing—for some little boys, it is just so difficult! And the girls their age often manage it easily, which only magnifies their deficit in their young heart. What pains me about Jennifer’s story is what happens to that little person’s feelings about himself—that wonderful self—and his feelings of capability. Too sad!
I can remember when I was just a little girl, probably about 4th grade. Our school pictures were coming up and I just wanted so much to have the “right smile”. Back to that “norm” idea. As if there is a “right” smile. I practiced in front of the mirror, trying to smile a movie star smile. Is a 9-year-old girl even capable of a movie star smile? No. “Too much television”, would be my diagnosis now, as a mother. Too much of the world having an influence. But I didn’t parent myself, so having that “right” smile was pretty crucial to me back then! I practiced in front of the mirror, touching my face so I could memorize what it felt like to have that perfect smile. When picture day came, and it was my turn to smile for the camera, I felt my face and made sure it was the “right” smile before the photographer snapped the picture. Back in those days, you got one pose only—probably the same these days for school pictures. When I got my pictures back, arrrrrrgh! They were AWFUL! My pasted “right” smile was a facial contortion. Plus, ALL my other classmates had a permanent record in their full sheet class picture!
The ache in this memory is the fact that a 9-year-old girl would even have the notion come into her head that she needed to try to be pretty, to have to try harder-than-possible to be acceptable. I am sad that as a little child I had been trained early to worry about it! It didn’t come from my mother, as she always had positive things to say about how beautiful we children were, and how we should be grateful that we even had a body that worked. So it must have come from the culture, the school environment, the early training out of ear shot of my mother.
One thing I have been surprised about in raising my homeschooled teenagers is that they never were afflicted with the self-depreciating attitude that children often display in the teen years (…my nose is too big, I’ll too tall, I’m too short, I’m too fat, I’m too busty, I’m not busty enough, I’m a wimp muscle-wise, I need to lift weights, etc.)
Actually I think it starts quite young, even back in kindergarten. The teacher, wanting to make losing a tooth a fun and special experience for the children, inadvertently rewards those who lose a tooth by having them come up in front of the class, putting their name on the “Lost a Tooth” chart, taking their photo, giving them a special award, etc. Seems like an innocent idea, but the seeds of peer comparison and self-depreciation are sown very early. I’ve heard more than one 5-year-old lament that they still had their baby teeth . . . as if it was a sin, or a reason to be sorry.
Children think they are fabulous—in the absence of negative peer review, and in the absence of being compared academically or skill-wise to classmates. It is amazing to me to see the natural feelings of a growing child! I used to worry a bit about it with when my first children came of age—to hear and watch them assess their bodies and make positive exclamations about how fabulous their bodies or their talents or their minds were! It made me laugh nervously and feel embarrassed because in our culture it is not acceptable to mention how wonderful our body is! And yet, viewing it from God’s perspective, it truly is amazing to see a child’s body transform into a teenage body, with all its resulting capacities. Bigger muscles for boys means they can lift things and work like an adult and be truly useful to the family in that manner. And it is natural for them to be excited and to make positive comments about what is happening to their body. “I’m so strong! I lifted as many hay bales as Dad did!” Those type of remarks are often discouraged—we think they are un-Christian somehow, as if we are not being humble enough. But truly, I think they spring from genuine awe and appreciation of the personal miracle that God has wrought in their lives. And it follows that poise and confidence are the natural results of feeling secure and thinking well of oneself.
Self-depreciation is taught by our culture of critique as being appropriate. Perhaps it sounds more humble, but it does a wicked work on self-esteem. When children repeatedly compare and criticize their body, their intelligence, their capabilities—it does irreparable damage. Better to gently teach your children to contain their expressions of delight in public, than to nullify their appreciation for the beautiful work of God in their growing minds and bodies.
One of my young teenage daughters used to lay on her bed and hold up her adult-looking leg for review. “Look how perfect my leg is!”, she would exclaim. It made me chuckle, as I am a product of this culture of self-depreciation, and it seems odd to delight in oneself. But when I truly looked at her leg objectively, I was amazed too! How God transforms a child into a beautiful adult is amazing!
I can guarantee you that my daughter wouldn’t have that attitude towards herself if she’d spent much time in the culture of the public school. I know that for a fact. I had been hospitalized and was forced to put my youngest at age 9 into school for a few months during this time. The drastic change in her attitude towards herself was alarming to me, and to her siblings. In just 3 months, she transformed and it was not for the better. One trait she quickly developed was “social awareness ” (gotta be cool!) Long before she attended school, she had been given a soft, furry, white, full-length coat that was her very favorite! She felt like a snow princess when she wore it. It was beautiful! She came home from school, coat slung over her arm, on a very frigid winter day. “Why aren’t you wearing your coat?”, I asked. Because it made her have “polar bear hips” she confessed. She didn’t even have hips yet! Whoever put that cutesy little barb of criticism into her mind prevented her from wearing her very favorite coat that made her feel beautiful . . . ever again. Though she never would part with it. I finally took it out of her closet recently and packed it away, and the feelings rushed back to me. So sad! So wrong!
Moms, academic training is important, yes. But a child’s confidence and recognition of their own self-worth is crucial to their happiness and well-being their whole life long! Children are able to hear the truth, that they are a beloved child of God and hear His approval spoken quietly to their minds, UNLESS the negative voice of their peers and the practices of our society’s critique system is louder. Which it usually is.
It is a good time in history to homeschool . . . to protect our children’s faith, tenderness, and self-worth. God times the growth of their body and mind perfectly in His wisdom. He loves them. He speaks approving words to their heart about their wonder and worth. Why shouldn’t everyone else?
A child’s self-confidence requires gentle, tender nurturing. Handle with care!
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