I Am, I See, I Can

Sometime sit down and examine your library of children’s books. See how many times the affirmations “I Am, I See and I Can” are used.

I have collected a number of these books and they can be found in my literacy training library.

Children learn, I believe, from the inside out, from head to toe and from left to right (except in special cases such as left handers).

Children who find their “I AM” and can “SEE” will find their “I CAN.” When they find their “I CAN” they will own the resiliency that Emmy Werner writes about eloquently.

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences include Interpersonal “I SEE” and Intrapersonal “I AM.” High school teens have a problem with empathy according to Daniel Goleman. They are big into interpersonal but short of intrapersonal. They have lost their “I SEE” quality. Modern society, the experts observe, is strengthening our reptilian brain at the expense of our cerebral cortex. This could lead to more violence prone in future generations.

When the brain starts to prune the galial cells the early teens start of lose their sense of self and have to depend on their peers for answers. Some may never restore their “I AM.” They become dependent on others to make decisions for them.

I feel it is important to present the “I AM” to children early so they can find their “I CAN.” When they realize that they can become anything they desire to become and nothing will stand in the way--their lives will be filled with the knowledge that they are meant to succeed. Failure is the loss of the “I AM” which creates fear about the “I CAN.”