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“Clap Yourself!” Helping Students to Recognize Their Accomplishments By Didi Arias
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n accomplishment is what one achieves when they use their skills. That seems simple enough, yet so many students don’t know how to recognize or realize when they have successfully completed a task. They go home, say they had a “lousy ride” and that they “accomplished nothing”, possibly because academic, workplace and general life bars are set very high these days. We are met with a daily barrage of emphasis being placed on being the best, fastest, smartest, most attractive, etc. Because something isn’t “-est”, or “-er”, efforts may not seem sufficient or noteworthy, which can lead to a feeling of “not being good enough” and a lack of self-esteem and confidence. I remember how a student responded when I congratulated her on her first, successful shoulder-in: “Oh, really?”, “I thought it would feel like something more” she replied. “Were you expecting fireworks and a 18
Summer 2020 | Riding Instructor
shower of gifts from the Dressage Gods?” I teasingly asked. “Maybe”, she laughed, “I just thought it would somehow be larger and better.” (That “-er” word again—she said so herself).
have a musician friend from Ghana who has a very endearing expression when somebody does something that deserves a pat on the back. “Clap yourself!” he shouts, with a genuine smile and hearty applause. This expression alone and his accompanied enthusiasm is enough to make anyone smile and feel good about what they just did. He runs a charity for the education of underprivileged children, street kids actually, and has a way of encouraging people who have perhaps never had much sense of self-worth feel good about themselves as they learn. Clapping yourself helps to increase positive emotions such as happiness, self-respect and self-confidence. My friend is right, clapping yourself really works! How can we help students to feel good about their accomplishments? First, we have to help them to recognize them—if you don’t know what you’re looking at you don’t know how to feel about it. The lady who expected earth tremors when she did her shoulder-in had a higher expectation of what it would actually feel like; perhaps that was my fault or perhaps she had been bottle feeding herself on viewing Olympic movers on the internet. Teaching the signs of what to expect in any exercise helps to give the student clarity and an assuredness in what to look for. Unfortunately, we humans tend to focus too much on the negative and sometimes progress can go unnoticed and unremarked upon; but boy, when something goes wrong everyone hears about it! When a student doesn’t recognize a job well done, if it isn’t pointed out by the instructor (not to mention the horse’s input), then a lack of self-esteem or confidence can develop as their efforts may seem insignificant. A cloud of negative self-doubt can roll in and plans, hopes and dreams can drift away, and that can include the joy of riding. A student lacking in self-appreciation of their efforts may be frustrated or confused, afraid to make a mistake, or just scared. We have to help them understand that riding well is something that is done over time, with lots of little failures, and a whole lot of little successes along with
