Kids need to find joy in their day. They need to be uplifted, they need a good support system. Their ideas, thoughts and differences need to be recognized and celebrated. Most of all they need to feel proud of themselves, their actions and their work.
What is pride? Pride is defined as a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.
Why teach pride? Taking pride in our work makes us perform at our best, it makes us become more innovative, something we value at Indi-ED. Pride increases the quality of our work and collaboration. Having a sense of pride is also important to accomplishing tasks well.
At Indi-ED, we encourage our students to take pride in their work and also to actually understand what it means to be proud of themselves.
Sometimes, as a teacher, you don’t always realize what is “sticking” with your students. I ask them to think of the things they are most proud of at the end of the school week. It seems hard for them to think of these things as they are 6 and 7 year olds but they do manage to get to something they are proud of, even if it’s that they love the lego house they built or that they climbed a tree.
As I sit and talk with parents and students during student-led conferences, I am truly amazed that even as young as they are and how hard it seems to get them to think about pride, that they understand the concept of being proud of themselves and take pride in their work. I asked the kids to pick out work that they wanted to share with their parents and to think about why they were proud of that work . When explaining, their reasons were things like reading a whole book, that their handwriting was neat or that they completed some math “all by themselves”. They realize that in the beginning of the year they couldn’t do something that they now can do. They can’t quite articulate the meaning behind their work or their growth…..but they know they are happy with themselves for doing it.
I am always impressed with how deeply they actually think even if they can’t express it right away.
Not only can they explain why they are proud of their work, it helps to deepen their understanding of how much they have learned or how far they have come. It also instills a great deal of confidence and motivation.
We recently had our student showcase. A first for me and for most of my kids. Talk about being proud! They performed a very short play on the life-cycle of a plant that we wrote together. Gardening has been our overarching theme for this unit. They presented their map making skills, they showed off their mural and garden and explained what they have learned about positivity and gratitude. I was so proud of them! They were so proud of themselves! Some, because they remembered their lines and some because they pushed through their nerves about being on stage.
I’m proud of these littles everyday. They work hard, play hard and love each other. They practice gratitude, positivity and of course, pride.