Boy after boy walks up to a mirror. Some are confident, some seem shy and many grin as they do a simple act of self-love: Looking in the mirror and saying what they like most about themselves.
“One thing I love about myself is I have the ability to do anything,” one says.
“One thing I like about myself is I’m a great listener,” says another boy.
And another: “I like my skin color.”
It’s a video made powerful by its simplicity and purity, and one drawing attention to the Brooklyn teacher who posted it.
From the heart
Ivan Marrero teaches performing arts to second-graders at Excellence Boys Charter School in Brooklyn.
He told USA TODAY this week that it was the first time he had students do self-affirmations and Marrero said he got the idea while creating a lesson on authenticity and being yourself.
“I thought it would be important for our boys to be able to affirm themselves, to be able to be happy with who they are,” he said. “Boys are taught to be tough, to stand up for themselves, to just sit back and watch. But with these boys, we want to make sure that we’re able to recognize the beauty that we have, whether it’s your eyes, your skin color, your smile, your hair.”
As he recorded the boys, Marrero said they “just blew me away.”
“Each and every one of them,” he said. “It was from the heart. It was true. It wasn’t rehearsed, and it was just an amazing video from there.”
‘Future Black kings’
Marrero said he has been overwhelmed by reactions to the video and has even heard from other little boys who’ve been inspired to do self-affirmations on their own.
On the Instagram post, one viewer praised Marrero for “shepherding these young princes towards a bright future.”
“Our future Black Kings,” another user wrote. And another: “This was such a refreshing thing to see. We need more of this.”
Marrero said he’s definitely going to be continuing the affirmation lessons to his class and future students. Just on Valentine’s Day, he said he had the boys say what they love most about each other.
School principal Jaz Grant said Marrero’s lesson is just the kind of thing he wishes he had growing up.
Like many men, he was taught simply, “you’ve got to be tough.”
“So for us, we are trying to get powerful ways to tap in to their inner emotions, their inner self at a much earlier age, so that they don’t have to face some of the battles and insecurities and things that we went through,” Grant said.