Learned helplessness is the behavior that an individual displays when they feel a sense of discouragement, which causes them to withdraw themselves from situations. They disengage due to the belief that they have no control over the outcome due to multiple failed attempts. This behavior is learned after repeated negative results of their actions and enables the individual to feel that no matter what they do, the conclusion will still be the same. Children can experience learned helplessness in a variety of ways, as their mind is very fragile while it begins to develop, grow and change. As children, we learn how to eat, walk, and talk. We also are taught that when you fall down, you get right back up and try again. But what happens when a child
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Since I’m new to the education world and want to know more about all aspects, occasionally I’ll sit in on classes to observe the teacher’s lessons, student interaction, and participation. I remember sitting in on a second grade English class this past year and seeing students display characteristics of “hoplessness and resignation” (Myers) when it came to learning. The class was reviewing vocabulary words for their upcoming test. The teacher would ask them to spell a word (they could write it on paper before they recited it out loud), and then use the word in a sentence. Upon asking the first question, several students shot their hand up confidently knowing the answer. Questions continued, but it was obvious that the same students were raising their hands. The others either sat quietly avoiding any chance of eye contact, or chit chatted amongst their neighbors about things other than vocabulary. The teacher noticed it as well and started to call on the other students randomly. After a few failed attempts of spelling the word and using it correctly in a sentence, which was then accompanied by small giggles from around the classroom, the disengaged students would simply shrug “I don’t know” then proceed in talking to their neighbor or wait for someone else to blurt out the answer. One boy that was called upon was an ESL student. His response was
Since I’m new to the education world and want to know more about all aspects, occasionally I’ll sit in on classes to observe the teacher’s lessons, student interaction, and participation. I remember sitting in on a second grade English class this past year and seeing students display characteristics of “hoplessness and resignation” (Myers) when it came to learning. The class was reviewing vocabulary words for their upcoming test. The teacher would ask them to spell a word (they could write it on paper before they recited it out loud), and then use the word in a sentence. Upon asking the first question, several students shot their hand up confidently knowing the answer. Questions continued, but it was obvious that the same students were raising their hands. The others either sat quietly avoiding any chance of eye contact, or chit chatted amongst their neighbors about things other than vocabulary. The teacher noticed it as well and started to call on the other students randomly. After a few failed attempts of spelling the word and using it correctly in a sentence, which was then accompanied by small giggles from around the classroom, the disengaged students would simply shrug “I don’t know” then proceed in talking to their neighbor or wait for someone else to blurt out the answer. One boy that was called upon was an ESL student. His response was