The Sense of Self

You can think of the sense of self as a backpack. It’s filled with the things you’re going to need on your adventures – and life is filled with adventures. So, you want to have a full backpack. That way, you’ll have the things you need wherever you go. If your backpack isn’t full, or even if you just feel like it isn’t full, you may not travel as far. If you think your backpack is nearly empty, you may skip a lot of adventures entirely.

This is why it is so important that children develop a healthy sense of self early on. We want every child to start with a full backpack, ready for learning and the many adventures that await. That’s what this module is about.

  • Academic sense of self
    how a person thinks of themself as a student
    Bias
    the belief that some people or ideas are better than others, usually resulting in unfair treatment
    BIPOC
    Black, Indigenous, people of color
    Conscious
    thoughts or feelings that we are aware of
    Growth mindset
    the belief that, with effort, you can learn and achieve new things.
    In-group preference
    the tendency to form close relationships with others in a person’s same groups
    Self-esteem
    a cluster of characteristics, such as feeling confident, having pride in oneself, and a sense of self-worth
    Sense of self
    how a person thinks and feels about their self
    Stereotype
    a widespread belief that a person must have a trait because they belong to a particular group
    Unconscious
    thoughts or feelings that we are unaware of