‘I am smart’: Atlanta teachers go viral for their poignant morning affirmation exercise

Netizens were amazed at the initiative and many said they wished that they had got the same opportunity while growing up.

Cierra Levay Broadway, the teacher who filmed the video, wrote, “I had chills listening to them say their affirmations.”

Watch the video here:

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Neffiteria Acker, the teacher seen in the video holding the mirror, told TODAY that the idea came from a practice that she does with herself and her 5-year-old daughter.

“When we’re on our way to school, I have her repeat affirmations to me, starting with, ‘I am.’ Usually I just ask her to tell me something good about herself,” the teacher said. “It boosts her confidence. It boosts my confidence as a woman and a mother. So I figured, why not add that in the classroom?”

Broadway said she was moved by watching the students. “For a lot of them, it was their first time ever doing that,” she said. Explaining that the neighbourhood where they teach is pretty rough and speaking on the importance of this exercise, the teacher further said, “A lot of those kids don’t hear (positivity) that at all. They hear a lot of negativity about themselves.”

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Describing the exercise as planting “good seeds of positivity and self-love”, the teachers said they are just there to keep watering it.

The self-confidence exercise delighted all online, with many parents saying they wish their children get to practice the same. Amassing millions of views across many platforms, it has also inspired other teachers to try out the same at their class.