Are You Awesome? A Child's Response
I recall working with two boys on their reading comprehension. One of the boys noticed one of the keys to success that I had posted on the wall above me. He asked me what the key meant. The key had the words, "You are Awesome!" on it. I asked him if he was awesome. He shrunk back and sheepishly said, "No I don't think so." The other boy who was with him also said that he, himself was definitely not awesome. I was so surprised by not only their words but their body language as both boys became so much smaller.
After playing with them a bit on asking some questions about what would make a person awesome and what were their specific gifts, both boys were able to state with confidence that, 'Yes I am Awesome!" repeatedly in my presence. One boy talked of his gift of knowing all about dinosaurs and how proud he was of all that he knew about them, especially after I shared that I knew only a little about dinosaurs. The other was keen on his gift of drawing and how he could make stories of his drawings. It was a joy to see them expand out of their smallness and into the awareness of their own greatness.
As soon as mom showed up, things went back to being small and they saying that they weren't awesome. Interesting huh?
After playing with them a bit on asking some questions about what would make a person awesome and what were their specific gifts, both boys were able to state with confidence that, 'Yes I am Awesome!" repeatedly in my presence. One boy talked of his gift of knowing all about dinosaurs and how proud he was of all that he knew about them, especially after I shared that I knew only a little about dinosaurs. The other was keen on his gift of drawing and how he could make stories of his drawings. It was a joy to see them expand out of their smallness and into the awareness of their own greatness.
As soon as mom showed up, things went back to being small and they saying that they weren't awesome. Interesting huh?
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