Low Self Esteem – nip it in the bud before the bud blooms
Over the years of working with young kids I have seen how low self confidence can have devastating effects on little lives. Some struggle to make friends on the playground and as a result miss out on the growing of strong social skills. Some are afraid to put their hand up to ask a question or to contribute to the lesson and fall behind academically. Some become so terrified of getting ‘it’ wrong that they stop trying and miss out on developing undiscovered talents and abilities. The real cause of their low self confidence was only the fear of failure. Left unaddressed for long enough many children will unfortunately grow insecure and introverted. I believe that this is very easily preventable.
Invest in growing your child’s confidence
Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself – Robert Collier
It has been proved that confidence is an important advantage to have, especially from a young age. Making sure your child has the courage to believe without doubt in themselves, their opinions and ideas, might be the very best investment you can make towards not only their professional success but also their overall happiness as a human being. So if your child needs a boost in the confidence department make sure you make a professional choice. Research options. Visual arts, performing arts, team sports and many other activities – each have their own approach and merit with regards to helping a child out of the shell. Some of the values of drama in particular listed in an article here. When you research these, look at your child’s interests, find something they enjoy but make sure you find the very best organisation for the job. Choose an expert!
What makes an expert an expert?
Why were ‘The Beatles’ so great? Malcolm Gladwell, in the superb book ‘Outliers,’ takes his readers on a wonderful analysis of where talent meets effort to achieve success. In it, he argues that ‘The Beatles,’ although talented, also had exponentially more performance experience than other bands of the time. They had known and practised the art more. They had, as a group, more combined experience than the rest. Gladwell puts forth the premise that to be an expert in your field requires a devotion to one’s craft for at least 10,000 hours. Wonderful video clip with Gladwell here.
An expert in building Confidence through Drama
Since I have left tertiary education I have done nothing but work with children between the ages of 4 and 9 years old. More specifically, the great majority of all my time spent with these young individuals has been as their teacher and I have only taught the Creative Arts with the exclusive aim to develop confidence and other social skills in my students. I have mastered it. I know it better than I know anything else. I am faster, more efficient, more confident in teaching Drama, Dance and Singing to the Foundation Phase age range than I am at making a cup of tea. I am an expert purely because of the time I have served in this field. I would like to believe I am talented too and if you saw me at it, you would not be able to ignore my passion for it and my sincerity towards each and every kid. You would see that I loved them. But for the sake of the argument, let’s go with Gladwell on this. Why did I start Buzz? Because it is what I know better than anything else. I am an expert. And I am not ashamed to say it!
If you happen to be in Johannesburg, South Africa and you would like to give your child a boost of confidence come try one of our classes. Complete this form and we will be in touch in no time.
