Affirmations

Kathi Byington

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’m wrapping my brain around what I really want to share with families as we continue to navigate being successful learners in a remote setting. Although meeting grade-level standards and ensuring academic competence across content areas is essential, it seems more important to let my parents know that their children are developing growth mindset skills that will benefit them long after the current pandemic is a distant memory.

In pursuit of these growth mindset skills, my students and I work together to create goals in the form of “I” statements, such as “I am capable,” “I am limitless,” “I feel confident,” “I choose to be happy,” and “I am courageous.” We write our goals on posters,[1] and then we talk about what they mean and where we might constructively apply them in our lives at home, school, or safely out in our communities. I challenge each student to affirm their “I” statement for themselves until the next day when I will see them again.

The next time we meet, I open our class time with the question, “Would anyone like to share how they have affirmed their goal?” It’s amazing to listen to what each child shares! The students and I listen to their classmates describe their successful mindset growth, especially since they can also relate to stories about when it was easier to have a fixed mindset and just give up. We take joy in celebrating and being inspired by students who overcome difficulties, and we understand and empathize when students trust our advice so that when they’re faced with a tough choice again, they will try to put a more positive twist on the situation.

As an added plus, every time someone chooses to share, I put a pom-pom in our class’s Affirmation Jar. When this jar is filled, the entire class will pick a fun way (a game day, a special treat, or an extra art class) to celebrate our accomplishment in viewing all challenges as steps toward becoming better human beings—people who listen, learn, and continue to grow.  

Affirming our positivity has a ripple effect, and I believe that when I meet with my students’ parents at conferences, the best possible conversation starter will be to talk about how their children are experts and role models living out a growth mindset in all that they do.

[1] Susan, Kristina, Mandie, & Robin. (2013). Products to inspire positive thinking. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from http://www.inspiredmindsllc.us/