Over the past several years students have been affected by the Covid pandemic in almost every aspect of their lives, not excluding school. School closures, transition to online learning, and extended absences have turned students’ lives upside down, often increasing anxiety and negative self-esteem. In the shadow of this crisis, it is crucial for teachers to shine a bright light on student strengths and talents.
Having students as early as the third grade write their resumes teaches a valuable life skill they’ll need one day when they enter the work force. As importantly, it helps students build positive relationships and boost self-esteem. Empowering students to create a personal “Strengths Resume” creates an environment where students feel special, safe, and confident.
For teachers, or parents or any caregiver, here is a guide to helping students create their resumes:
- Step 1 Have students complete a learning inventory. To be clear, this is a very different kind of inventory than a getting-to-know-you questionnaire. This survey helps students identify their own strengths, interests, hobbies, and learning preferences, and is invaluable for them to get to know themselves. Sample questions include: “What do you like to do in your spare time?” “Do you like to learn in groups or individually?” “In what type of environment do you learn best?”
- Step 2 Have students use their learning inventory to craft their own personalized “Strengths Resume.” Resumes can include basic information such as name, age, and grade. It also includes sections about academic strengths, hobbies, “ways I learn best,” and “ways to make me smile.” Include a section titled: “Please avoid” in order to learn about things students would rather not do or rather the teacher not do. For example, one student shared “Please avoid calling on me when my hand is not raised. I’m shy and it makes me nervous.” Knowing what to avoid is critical for teachers to know and use in planning.
- Step 3 Students can share their resume with their teacher, classmates, parents, and other teachers. Students will build confidence by telling others about their unique talents, interests, and learning styles. Student resumes are a powerful way to put students in the driver’s seat of their learning journey.
- Student strength resumes help build relationships. By asking students to reflect and identify personal strengths early on in the year, teachers start the year off on a positive note. When the child feels that their teacher wants to know their strengths, they are much more likely to feel accepted by their teacher and classmates. Strengths resumes communicate loudly and clearly that the teacher believes everyone in the class is special and their gifts are worthy of celebration.
- Student resumes increase self-esteem. By starting the year identifying personal strengths, students will feel valued and important. Strengths resumes put students in the driver’s seat of their own academic, social, and emotional well-being. By thoughtfully identifying their strengths and learning preferences, students can contribute to their own needs and teachers can act in more of a support role.
- Student resumes can be used in lesson planning to leverage student strengths and learning styles. Teachers can use student generated data to tailor lessons to include individual students interests and learning styles. This will increase engagement, belonging, and confidence in the classroom.
- Student resumes can reflect growth over time. In addition to learning the skill of making a resume, students can also track their growth over time by adding to their resume throughout the year. Strengths resumes can also be shared as the child moves to another grade level so that the first data the new teacher encounters is directly from the student.
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Lory Walker Peroff is a fourth-grade teacher at Waikiki Elementary School. She lives in Honolulu with her husband, two daughters, six chickens, four ducks, and one stubborn goat.
