At school, he struggled with math academically, and occasionally had conflicts with his teachers. These conflicts were not characterized by anger, but at his teacher's frustration at what they saw as his lack of attentiveness and lack of class participation. He was often described (and still is) as quiet and reserved by teachers, friends, and family. He recalls resenting going to school many years, and did not get much positive reinforcement in terms of his academic intelligence. Although his academic performance was adequate, he says he did not feel particularly intelligent. This began to change in junior high, when his performance in sports grew stronger after...
The growth spurt, the esteem this garnered him on the team and at school translated into a greater sense of self-worth in the classroom, and greater engagement and confidence when dealing with others. For the first time he succeeded in school, was able to hold his own with his older brothers, and to feel better about his ability to show leadership towards others on the team and to his younger siblings.
Works Cited
Cramer, Craig, Bernadette Flynn, & Ann LaFave. (1997). Erikson's stage 4: Latency.
Introduction to Stages. Erikson homepage. Retrieved 8 Nov 2008 at http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/ERIK/stage4.HTML
