Blog
Building Self-Confidence
During his 4th grade year, Eric participated in the LFCS program, Project STEPUp . After completing the 10-week Botvin LifeSkills program with the rest of his class, Eric’s teacher referred him for one-on-one follow up coaching. He was showing very little motivation in school and was having a hard time making friends. Although Eric was a very sweet kid, he was lacking self-confidence. He would say things like, “I’m just not the kind of kid who has friends,” or, “I’m just not the kind of kid who does well in school.”
During one-on-one visits, an LFCS LifeSkills Facilitator spent time with Eric working on positive self-talk. When Eric would say something negative, it would be pointed out and he would be asked to change it into a positive statement. He really enjoyed this, and over time, he was saying more and more positive statements about himself. Near the end of his 90-day one-on-one coaching, LFCS received an email from Eric’s teacher saying, “You are awesome! Thanks for all you’ve done with Eric. I’ve seen a change in his attitude toward school. Did he tell you he made homework club? He turned in EVERY homework assignment for the whole month!” Other teachers he worked with made similar comments. Eric was really proud of himself, too.
By the end of the thirteen meeting program, Eric had achieved both of his program goals! His grades were improving and he was making more friends in class. Overall, Eric was just one of the many students who really benefits from the extra support to achieve academic, behavioral and social goals in school.
To learn more about STEPUp, click here.