Small Achievers, Great Dreams: Boosting Confidence with Certificates

In every part of the world generally there are primary schools. These schools play a vital role in molding and shaping the attitude and personality of the young children who will become the noble citizens of a country in the future.

Young minds are like sponges and they are always eager to explore various things. Hence, motivation plays a vital role in shaping their academic journey.

As far as primary education is concerned one of the most powerful tools to motivate the young boys and girls is certificates or medals or any awards. These tokens of appreciation do not just acknowledge the achievements made by them but they produce a great impact on boosting their levels of confidence leading them towards the path of even greater accomplishments.

Impact of Recognition

A certificate or medal can be very less in monetary value but their impact on young minds is monumental. They in fact serve as tangible reminders of their hard work and dedication towards making some achievement in their classes. They communicate to the children that their efforts are not in vain, they are making progress and their commitment is recognized by others.

Confidence Building

This drastically improves their level of confidence and nurtures an achievement mentality in their minds. As we all know, confidence is the key which will unlock and unblock many doors of success in all the aspects of life. Such a mentality should be cultivated in the formative years of primary education itself.

“Can do” Attitude

When a small kid receives a certificate or medal after taking part in a mathematics quiz or a singing competition or any other activity, this communicates a very powerful message: "you can do it." This affirmation definitely boosts their self-esteem and encourages them to believe in their abilities. The result will be that they will be coming forward to take up new challenges in the future with the same attitude.

Imagine a young student who has difficulties in reading but through motivation and determination and also with the help of the teacher, shows a remarkable improvement and then this child receives a certificate in recognition of this progress, this will definitely reinforce the idea that the hard work pays off.

Goal Setting

In addition certificates and medals can play a vital role in educating the students about goal setting and the importance of hard work. When the students In a class observe their peers receiving recognition they aspire to achieve similar feats. This leads to some healthy competition among the classmates and as a result they tend to set their own goals and work on their accomplishment.

Extension of positive attitude beyond the classroom

Generally in primary schools certificate and medals are awarded to recognize the achievement made by the students in their curricular and co-curricular activities. However, the resulting impact of their accomplishment can transcend the various other areas of life which they may undertake in the future. In summary, the positive impact resulting due to the recognition of their achievement extends beyond the classroom.

Willingness and love for learning

Haven't you heard of incidents where children refuse to go to school? A large number of kids hate to go to school because they consider the schooling and the related work there to be a burden. However, when there is recognition whenever a child makes a progress they start becoming interested in the process of learning and they start to view learning as a journey of discovery rather than a chore.

Learning of Resilience

Building resilience is another invaluable lesson taught to the children by certificates and medals. Not everyone will be able to win in all competitions, one will not always become first, hard work pays dividends, even if I am not in a position to excel in one area there are many other areas where I can show my talents, different students possess various skills - this type of ideas and understanding will develop in the students which is very healthy and essential for the establishment of social harmony in any society.

On the other hand when a child faces a disappointment by not winning in an event it becomes an opportunity for growth. It is also an opportunity for them to learn that setbacks are a natural part of life and if they continue to work without losing confidence, they can bounce back.

Conclusion

In many schools today generally there is an attitude of paying more attention to the students who are appearing to be brighter. Such kids are smaller in number and a vast majority of the children are not given ample attention. However, if teachers change the attitude and take some constructive measures on bringing up each and every child in the class forward by carefully identifying the talents and capabilities hidden in them. As we know, the defined subjects in the school curriculum do not evaluate all types of capabilities and abilities possessed by children.

A teacher is expected to envision about each and every child in his or her class. This child can be someone who will benefit the entire world in some way in the future. I have the responsibility of cultivating the correct attitude in each and every child in my class. This is how the teacher has to look at the students. It is not only completing the syllabus expected by the curriculum of the educational authorities.

Multiple opportunities in different areas must be provided by the primary school to the students to show the talents and make achievements. Under this context, the school management can consider developing suitable activities which will build up the 3C's of 21st century learning and leading in them: Creativity, Collaboration and Capacity building.

Finally in conclusion, it is important to understand that the certificates and medals are more than pieces of paper and metal. They are symbols of motivation and accomplishment. These small tokens of appreciation to recognize the students play a very important role in nurturing their minds, in encouraging them to strive for excellence and in instilling in them the values of hard work and resilience.