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[sjanowski]

I work one on one with a child who has an inferiority complex and self-esteem issues.  Does anyone have any ideas on how I can bolster her self-esteem/how I can help her to improve her self-esteem?

[yaichenbaum]

Please provide more details about the age of the child, academic weaknesses and strengths, etc.  With added information, I might be able to make some suggestions.
Rabbi Yaakov Aichenbaum
Limudei Kodesh Resource Room, director
Scranton Hebrew Day School

[sjanowski]

She is a 4th grader with issues in Chumash/translation/shorashim, paying attention, very impulsive, over-reacts, reacts before i finish speaking, etc.  She has told me that she receives nasty comments from girls in her school.  Her strengths include Navi, realizing her mistakes after she over-reacts/acts out, etc.

[yaichenbaum]

From the information that you have provided, I feel that several things can be done:
1. First, it is important to identify why this child is struggling academically.  Has she ever been tested for learning disabilities?  Her issues in Chumash might be a result of learning disabilities, poor teaching, emotional issues, etc.  Proper identification can help her improve academically which will naturally impact upon self-esteem. 

You also mentioned that she is impulsive and has attentions issues.  Has she been evaluated for ADHD?  If she has an attention deficit, proper management through behavior modification and/or medication can transfer the child into a different person.

2. A two front approach should be taken to strengthen her weaknesses (more on this later) and capitalizing on her strengths.  If she like Navi and is good in it, make her the resident Navi expert.  Have her do extra projects, research, etc. about navi.  Let her shine in front of her peers in this subject. 

Her awareness of her mistakes is definitely strength.  I highly recommend that you read Dr. Mel Levine’s books (A Mind At A Time etc.) and his website (Allkindsofminds.org).    You will discover a wealth of information about various areas of weakness and strength and how to explain this to children. 

3. A mistake that tutors often make is that they try to help the child “pass the next test”, but they do not help the child acquire the skills that they need in the long-term.  Addressing these long-term skills will enable the child to succeed no matter what the cause of the weakness is.  Almost without exception, these children have weak vocabularies.  I use an intense program for vocabulary acquisition that helps the child become independent in learning Chumash.  This system can be found on chinuch.org under the title My Image of the Ideal resource Room.  An in class version of this program for the mainstream classroom is found in a video workshop in the video section of chinuch.org.  It is called Laying the Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning Chumash Independently.

I very often use vocabulary acquisition as a boost to self-esteem.  One student who I worked with long distance gained a large vocabulary and soon new ords to the rest of the class did not.  This was a great boost to her self-esteem, her grades increased, and all areas of her life improved.

I hope that these suggestions will help you.  Please contact me if you need further clarification and please share with us how things are going.  By the way, if it is possible, try to work with your student on vocabulary over the summer.  she will start the new year on a different note.  Hatzlacha rabba!
Rabbi Yaakov Aichenbaum
Limudeo Kodesh Resource Room Direcotr
Scranton Hebrew Day School

[sjanowski]

Thank you for the idea of going to allkindsofminds.org!  I've bookmarked, so I can easily refer to it and you are right!  It has a wealth of information!  I would highly recommend it!  Thanks again!