Gideons Elementary School in Atlanta, US, has grabbed the spotlight after the video of a teacher who launched a mission to make her students realise the importance of ‘self-worth’, went viral. In an attempt to boost the kids’ self-esteem, the lecturer asks the pupils to shout positive affirmations to themselves in a mirror — “I am smart!” “I am a good person!” while they hoot and cheer for themselves in the background. This is an activity to encourage self-love, Mrs. Acker, the Atlanta teacher seen in the video holding the mirror to the fourth graders, told US broadcaster ‘Today Parents’.
The idea, she stated, first emerged with her 5-year-old daughter, whom she asked to practise this method.
“When we’re on our way to school, I have her repeat affirmations to me, starting with, ‘I am.’ Usually, I just ask her to tell me something good about herself. She’ll say, ‘I’m a fast eater,’ or, ‘I’m a fast runner.’ Then I’ll add to it: ‘You’re also really brave. So why don’t you say, “I’m brave,” the hero teacher told the network. She added that the activity generated a tremendous amount of confidence and self-value even for herself and her daughter by example.
“So, I decided to do it with our students,” she said.
In the nearly 15-second footage, the teacher held the full-body mirror and asked the students to look at just themselves and say amazing affirmations that motivate them to perform better. Kids were heard shouting “I am smart,” “I am a good person” and “I am strong and independent” among many other things as they each lined up in front of the mirror.
The awe-inspiring video was originally shared on Twitter by Cierra Broadway and is now being widely circulated. “I just felt literal chills when I heard them saying these things that they came up with on their own, “Broadway separately told Fox TV station. She said that the children were nervous at first but eventually gained confidence. ”Hearing them speak that life and love into themselves. It was emotional,” the sentimental teacher said in televised remarks.