Building Self Confidence

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Building Self-Confidence It is not uncommon to find "build self-esteem" as one of stated objectives in descriptive materials touting the benefits of park and recreation programs. The importance of building self-esteem, feeling good about oneself, has been promoted by many as an important objective not only of direct parenting but also of school and organized youth programs. A core assumption has been that children cannot learn and adjust properly in society unless they have a positive feeling about themselves. Low self-esteem has been attributed as being a major obstacle to success by racial minorities and others that did not adjust well in our society. The theory was that our society holds blacks and minorities back by imposing a low sense of self-worth. Many felt that positive consequences for all in our society would result if self-esteem levels could be raised. This feeling seems to be especially strong in people who received their college education 15 to 35 years ago when the self-esteem movement was at its zenith. But about 15 years ago, it began to become evident that research studies on the benefits of self-esteem were not confirming these suppositions. In fact, some studies showed just the opposite, that some of the problems with the youth of today might have derived from the self-esteem movement. Time magazine contributor Andrew Sullivan cites research indicating that the self-esteem of blacks is no lower than that of whites and is often quite higher. The results further show that self-esteem can be just as high in D students, drunk drivers, racists, street thugs and prison inmates as it is in Nobel laureates, nuns and New York firefighters. Increasing numbers of books and articles have noted these inconsistencies calling the whole self-esteem movement into question. Charles Sykes, author of Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About
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