10 Ways to Build Student Confidence in the GED Classroom

It’s that time again! August can be especially stressful for the returning GED student, and they often let excuses get in their way.

 “I don’t have time for classes right now.”

“I need to focus on my job, my family, etc.”

“I’ll wait until the first of next year and then start.”

As GED teachers, it’s difficult to know all that goes through the potential GED student’s mind because self-doubt and procrastination can often keep students from calling us or coming to class. However, once we get students in the door, it’s our job to show students their true capabilities. If they try to earn their degree while they continually allow negative thoughts to enter their mind, it will be much more difficult to learn. It is truly amazing how telling ourselves we can’t do something often ensures that we actually won’t be able to do that very thing.

Therefore, as students enter your classroom, greet them with genuine enthusiasm and work every day to build their confidence. GED teachers can’t be just educators; we have to be cheerleaders too! Here are a few ways to begin boosting students’ self-confidence from Day 1.

1. Learn what they like to be called, not just the name they put on their intake. It is important that GED students see you as their advocate and advisor, and you will create a closer relationship with them if you call them the same thing their friends call them.

2. Put their number in your phone, and ask them to put yours into theirs. Tell them that you are always just a text away, and prove this is true by being quick to respond to inquiries. If you have any concerns, send them a text. For example, “I just wanted to check on you. I am a little worried that you missed today’s class. Are you okay?”. This will show you care and let them know that they are missed when they don’t attend class.

3. Give students time to get to know one another. Their peers are often their biggest supporters, and successful students almost always have a support system.

4. Learn what motivates them. If you find out why they want to earn their GED, you can remind them of this reason when they have a tough day. Motivations can vary, but they often include being a role model for a child, a job promotion, or simply proving to themselves that they can do it. Whatever their reason for attending, they need to keep that in mind in order to stay focused when things get tough.

5. Show them all the things they already know. They may have several things to learn, but their initial entrance testing should also show many items they have retained. This will help students realize that they aren’t starting at square one, and that they actually did learn a few things while in school.

6. Challenge your students slowly. If you throw a lot of new material at students without adequate time for things to sink in, you are setting your students up for failure. Remember that at each step of the game, you need to remind students how far they have come.

7. Celebrate successes. There are many ways to do this without spending money. One of my favorite ways to reward students is by printing out certificates for various achievements. There are lots of free websites for printing these accolades. Don’t think that adult students don’t like these tangible reminders of success. I have had students make portfolios for their certificates, hang them on their fridge, frame them, etc.

8. Have students help one another. The best way to make sure your students are retaining material is to have them teach their newly learned skills to one another. This will make your job a little easier, it will give the students a chance to get to know one another, and the tutor in this scenario will gain confidence as they prove to themselves that they have mastered certain skills.

9. Give them a job. This will help both student confidence and student retention. One person could be in charge of making sure all materials are put back in the right place, for instance, or that all the tables are wiped down at the end of class. This helps learners feel that they have an important role in the class community, and they will be less likely to miss class since their particular assigned task might not get done.

10. Get to know your students and praise them for their life outside of class. It is important that words of praise always be sincere, but it’s not hard to find and mention something our learners do well. Maybe they seem like a great dad, or maybe you learn that they are a wiz at fixing cars. Whatever it is, remind them that they have skills in and out of class.

Many GED students begin class already defeated.  Most weren’t successful when they went to school the first time, so they aren’t confident that their second try will be any better.  As GED teachers, we need to help these students overcome their low self-confidence so that they can ultimately achieve their goals.