To me, asset - based thinking means focusing on what people are good at instead of what they aren't good at or what they are missing. In a youth environment such as a school, it's about seeing the strengths, talents, and backgrounds that students have and helping them use those to learn and grow. It's a way of believing that every student has something to offer and every student is capable, not broken or behind.
CONNECTION: This idea of asset - based thinking connects to me because I have always been a quiet more reserved person but as a kid I was extremely shy. I hated being called on or put on the spot, and sometimes that made me seem like i didn't care or wasn't trying. But I had a few teachers who actually saw that I did care, I just learned and communicated differently. They would check in with me privately or let me share my thoughts in writing instead of out loud. Those teachers gave me a lot of confidence and made me feel capable and seen. I think this is what asset - based thinking is, instead of focusing on what I couldn't do, they noticed my strengths and worked with that.
QUESTIONS:
1. How can schools highlight student's strengths every day?
2. How can teachers discover their students strengths if those strengths aren't related to grades or test scores?
3. Does focusing too much on a students strengths cause teachers to overlook the areas where students need help?
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