I respect and accept myself

Self-esteem is an important part of a person's self-image, self-perception and self-awareness. When we encourage young people to have a positive self-esteem, we can influence them to realise their own worth and the value of their lives. The latter is also a prerequisite for respecting others, i.e. the people around us.
In the workshop, students focus on their good qualities by making positive statements about themselves and on the basis of positive statements made about them by their classmates.

The teacher informs the students that in the first part of the workshop they will identify their positive qualities.
The pupils sit in a circle. The teacher hands out worksheets on which a list of positive statements is printed (see Appendix List of positive statements). The teacher tells the pupils to read out the statements and reflect on them. Then, from their list, they are asked to choose the three positive statements that they feel best describe them or that they can most easily accept as their own.
The teacher ensures that the pupils read quietly, decide for themselves and do not tell each other their choices.
When he/she sees that they have finished their work, he/she tells them to choose one of the three statements, the one that seems most important to them at the moment, to present to their classmates.
Point out that it is possible that several students may choose the same statement. Explain that this is quite normal and that they will express their individuality in relation to the statement they have chosen below. When they present their chosen sentence to their classmates, they will have to justify their choice.
They will then continue the statement by saying: '... because ...'.
The teacher reminds the pupils to be as specific as possible in their justifications and to base their arguments on their own experiences. They should not answer with generalisations such as:
"I have the right to make mistakes because all human beings make mistakes ..."
The experiential explanation of the statement has a higher target value for the learners.
For example, "I can empathise with and understand others because I always notice when a parent is unwell and help them more, and I can see immediately if something is wrong with my sister ...".
The teacher should support each pupil after his/her presentation with a short sentence or just a word ("... thank you..., nice..."). The content or explanation of the personal experience should not be
comment directly to the individual learner (this could over-expose the learner), but rather express an opinion on the value of the trait or behaviour expressed in general.
The teacher does not need to comment on every answer. He can ask a question, for example:
"Why is it important to be able to organise our time?", or "What would the world be like if people looked for positive qualities in others?", or "How do we feel when we experience that someone has tried to empathise and understand us? Do we try to understand the feelings and behaviours of our classmates?"
Once all students have explained their statements, the teacher can ask them to further explain the positive affirmations, such as: which interpretations of the statements match their beliefs, how they evaluate the list of statements as a whole, etc.
The teacher can discuss with the students how they felt when they chose positive affirmations about themselves and how they felt when they presented one of their positive qualities to their classmates.
Once the discussion has been settled, the teacher explains to the pupils the meaning of positive statements and how they relate to developing positive attitudes about themselves. She suggests that they continue to use the list at home.
They can stick the statements in a prominent place, they can stick them in their notebooks, etc.