A common belief in educational circles is that students must like themselves first in order to perform well at school. Here, the teacher, rather than focusing on the students' self discovery, focuses around activities of problem solving, seeking relevant meaning from facts, and skills development. The teacher becomes the coach in guiding students to academic and behavioral success. This approach is supported by research. Susan Black, professor of education at Elmira College, analyzed over 100 publications on self esteem from universities, education agencies, independent researchers, and school districts.
Many educators believe that high self esteem is a prerequisite to high academic achievement.
But researchers are now questioning this assumption, as well as the methods used to raise self esteem. Ironically, another study involving Magic Circle found that the control group not exposed to Magic Circle had higher self esteem than the Magic Circle students. The best way for a school to have a positive effect on students' self esteem is to foster an environment in which individuals are always respected and valued. Study after study emphasizes that students gain considerable self esteem from putting forth effort to achieve. The overwhelming evidence is that feelings-oriented programs don't work very well at all.