Eighty percent of students entering school feel good about themselves and who they are. By the fifth grade only 20 percent have high self-esteem. By the time students become seniors in high school, the percentage who have managed to keep a positive level of self-esteem has dropped to 5 percent.
Students encounter the equivalent of 60 days each year reprimanding, nagging and punishment. During 12 years of schooling a student is subject to 15,000 negative statements. That's three times the amount of positive statements received.