It's weird how it can change. One day I think I am so smart—look at me—I brought up five kids, but then another time I think to myself—you're just stupid and you'll never learn—someday people will find out how dumb you really are and then what?

Here's some advice I guess for people when they think kids don't matter. They do. Kids turn into adults like me who feel bad most times because of those things that weren't supposed to matter back then. I remember and for a long time I thought I was rotten and that was why I wasn't loved. I was un-loveable. Hmph, takes a long time to change your mind.²¹

One of the questions that kept returning to me was "Had past negative experiences of the literacy learners in my program—experiences they were now sharing in the writing group—influenced their self-concept?" I felt strongly the answer was yes. In my readings I found:

It is ultimately our ability to withstand or understand the treatment we receive as children that determines what we think about ourselves as adults. (Vanzant, 1998)

Inside each of us rests a silent message about what's expected of us. We may never say it out loud, we may rebel against it, refuse to do it, but somehow we always know what it is. And it has a powerful effect on how we run our lives. (Sher, 1994)

I was led to wonder what I as a literacy practitioner could possibly do to help the learners see themselves in a more positive light. Was it even possible?

Clarifying My Question

I started to plan my project with the question, "How can I change literacy learners' self- concept?" While self-confidence is defined as the "faith in one's own judgment or ability" and self-esteem is defined as "self-respect or an exaggeratedly favourable opinion of oneself" (Webster's, 2001), self-concept has been described this way:

The totality of a complex, organized, and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person holds to be true about his or her personal existence.