Hey, I am tremendously gratified.  I can't remember the last time 
anyone agreed with me 100%.  Neither can I remember you agreeing with 
anyone 100%.  Must be chance and will probably never happen again.  Cheers.


At 12:04 PM 9/27/2006, you wrote:

>Hal:

>

>Hal:

>

>I agree with you 100%. The issue to me is what examples of student

>successes are and how to create the possibility for true success. This

>is very Hegelian. IE: The worker recognizes herself in the product of

>her work. So, the person who makes the chair is proud of making a good

>quality chair. However, factory work takes away the relationship between

>the worker and the chair. The worker only nails a nail and never sees

>the chair. He becomes alienated form his own work and we end up needing

>a socialist revolution   ;-) You can give him a certificate for doing

>good work, but the certificate is meaningless praise.

>

>The same and more is the case with ABE students. Learning needs to

>result in a meaningful outcome so that students may recognize themselves

>in their work. At the same time, we must create tasks that allow

>students to be able to be productive so they can have something that

>they identify with.

>

>Our students just published a collection of short stories. This is the

>second publication and it is available on line at:

>http://bordersenses.com/memorias

>

>Actually, the second volume is not available yet. However, you can see

>the first volume and get an idea of the project. In terms of the issue

>of creating possibilities for success I wrote something specifically

>about this in the intro to the second volume. Below is an excerpt:

>

>"Our pedagogical approach is grounded in the idea that GED instruction

>requires good reading and writing skills. However, many of our students

>have had little exposure to reading and writing. So, developing these

>skills, a challenge in itself, becomes more challenging when the

>students are uninterested in the subject and have little familiarity

>with it. However, if students can build their reading and writing skills

>by documenting and reading their own experiences, they will be familiar

>with the knowledge and they will relate to it. Moreover, they will feel

>validated if their knowledge and experiences are documented for

>posterity.  Once they build their reading and writing skills, they will

>be able to apply these skills to new knowledge and new academic and real

>life problems."

>

>This is both Freirian and Deweyian.

>

>Andres

>

>-----Original Message-----

>From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov

>[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder

>Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:21 AM

>To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List

>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 500] Re: Low Self-Esteem: Myth or Reality? Some

>comments

>

>Andres, I am not aware of any evidence to the

>affect that self-esteem is influenced by

>genetics.  By and large it is a product of life

>experience.  As you point out, some--Freire for

>example--believe that low self-esteem is a social

>construction.  It is one of those mechanisms that

>keep the oppressed in a state of

>oppression.  Others would focus more on the

>family.  To me, however, the most important point

>is that low-self esteem can be treated.  The

>question is how.  One school would argue that

>lots of social support and positive feedback is

>the way.  The problem with this is that it can

>lead to a very condescending attitude, a focus on

>deficit, and indirect reinforcement of the

>literacy stigma.  The other way to "treat"

>low-self-esteem is simply by helping learners to

>be successful.  Success is the most powerful antidote to low

>self-esteem.

>

>Over thirty years ago, Last gamble on Education

>(Mezirow, Darkenwald & Knox) found that the

>characteristic that directors most sought in

>hiring teachers was a warm, pleasant

>personality.  It mattered less whether they could

>TEACH.  I think this is true today to a certain

>extent.  In my view, this value is misplaced.  If

>we want to enhance self-esteem the way to do it

>is to hire teachers who care more than anything

>about their learners progress and know how to produce it.

>

>

>

>

>At 02:37 PM 9/26/2006, you wrote:

> >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message

> >Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

> >         boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C6E19A.D8C6745C"

> >

> >Hi Ana: Thinking about this issue is going to

> >drive me nuts and keep me out of my work, but

> >here I go again. You define self -esteem as:

> >"In psychological research, self-esteem is

> >typically defined in terms of how we evaluate

> >ourselves and our characteristics, the personal

> >judgment of worthiness that is expressed in the

> >attitudes the individual holds toward himself,"

> >in the words of Coopersmith, a pioneering

> >researcher in the field. It is a fuzzy construct

> >but a certain consensus has developed. Many seem

> >to agree that self esteem can be differentiated

> >into global and specific self esteem. Global

> >represents a general attitude towards oneself,

> >and can be considered a trait self-esteem,

> >whereas specific self-esteems concern particular areas of people's

>lives. "

> >What I wonder is if this feeling of self-worth

> >is caused by genetics, or is it caused by

> >certain experiences. It is possible that self

> >esteem is inherited. If so, then, self esteem

> >reporting, would be similar regardless of group.

> >However, if the environment has something to do

> >with self esteem, the question to me would be

> >what factors influence self-worth.

> >If genetics are a predictor of self esteem, and

> >we can identify the gene that determines self

> >esteem, then there is no reason to work on the

> >self esteem of the students. It is possible that

> >self esteem can be associated with dopamine,

> >serotonin activity in the brain and that there

> >is a gene that influences the presence or

> >absence of these substances. If such is the

> >case, then, we may be able to prescribe prozac

> >to those with low self-esteem and, most likely,

> >there is probably something to this

> >I assume that most of us believe that there are

> >causes in the environment that can influence

> >self-worth. For example, there was an in your

> >face Sprite commercial that used to say "Image

> >is Everything". I assume that the makers of the

> >commercial believe that people's self worth has

> >to do with their image and that people would do

> >anything to improve their image which would lead

> >to an improve self-worth. I am not sure if this

> >is true or not, but a whole field of advertising

> >has been developed on this premise. The purpose

> >of advertising is to make people feel bad about

> >themselves and to feel that they will feel

> >better by acquiring a given product. In fact,

> >the poor seem to be the biggest target of

> >predatory type of advertising that banks on their low self worth.

> > From this I get that while there is not that

> > much direct evidence that the self worth of the

> > poor is worse than the self worth of the

> > wealthier, there is indirect evidence. The

> > indirect evidence is the extent and success of

> > the predatory advertising to make the poor

> > consumers of things that they do not need, but

> > are marketed as means to improve their self worth.

> >So, if we assume that the environment has

> >something to do with self-esteem, then I would

> >try to identify the elements in the environment

> >that influence self esteem. I would hypothesize

> >that self esteem will increase with the

> >accomplishment of something that I want to

> >achieve. So, if I achieve something, then I will

> >feel that I fulfill my goals or I became self

> >actualized, as Maslow articulates.

> >I think that the problem rests in the things

> >that will make us feel self actualized and the

> >difference between what different groups can do

> >to become self actualized. Ideally, we would

> >have control in the things that we chose to do.

> >Unfortunately, institutions in the community and

> >the media shape those choices. In a capitalist

> >community where success is measured in terms of

> >wealth, the need to show socioeconomic success

> >has to be important. So, those who determine

> >that they want to succeed economically will

> >become fulfilled by economic success. Hence,

> >they will become self-actualized and their

> >perception of themselves, their self worth will improve.

> >At the same time, there are limitations to the

> >things that we can do that are mediated by

> >economics. If, for example, my kid has a cold, I

> >may need to take her to the doctor or buy

> >medication. My ability to do this may very well

> >depend on my economic status. Providing for my

> >child becomes a way to become self actualized,

> >but the possibility of me becoming self

> >actualized is tied to my financial situation.

> >The same has to do with going to school, sending

> >children to school, finding employment,

> >practicing my art, etc. In our society the means

> >to become self actualized, even if they are our

> >choices, may be tied to economic forces.

> >Because I don't believe that economic success is

> >an important marker of self worth, I want to

> >challenge this with my students. But, to do

> >this, we need to find other makers of success

> >and help them explore these. These may lead to

> >self actualization and improved self worth.

> >Being a good mother, helping a friend, writing a

> >story, etc, can be means of self actualization.

> >However, these models compete with the powerful

> >advertising and marketing models that plague the

> >lives of most of our students. But I don't

> >believe that my students' self esteem has been

> >lowered by society's established markers of self

> >worth and society's established vehicles for

> >self actualization, then I have no reason to

> >create alternative models. I think that we all

> >do, and we work on this which leads to our

> >students becoming self actualized. However, we

> >are always competing with Walmart.

> >There are other issues tied to consciousness of

> >history that Freire explores that are tied to

> >oppressor/oppressed status, hegemony, etc. I

> >will not get into them right now. However, I

> >still believe that self-esteem is something very

> >complex that cannot be looked at as some

> >isolated independent variable that can be reported.

> >Andres

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

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>

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Rutgers University
Graduate School of Education
10 seminary Pl.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732-932-7496 ext. 8213