ome out of their shell on their own and need to progress at their own comfort level (Zimbardo, 1981). An example of this is shown in the book The Shy Little Angel, by Ruth Brown, in which a little girl does not wish to take part in the school play. The other children try to persuade her to participate, but the little girl wishes for the play to continue without her. The little girl watches from the backstage as her classmates put on a wonderful show. As she watches she gradually gets closer and closer to the stage eventually falling onto the stage and into the spotlight. Dressed as the little angel, she makes her grand appearance. She is then showered by applause from the audience, and she overcomes her shyness. No one tries to push the girl about her shyness; she is accepted for who she is and her shyness eventually becomes adaptive behavior. A second book that allows a children to just be shy is Stop That Garbage Truck, by Linda Glaser. Henry is a shy boy who has establishes a relationship with the neighborhood garbage man, Jackson. The only strange thing about the relationship is that Henry doesnt speak to Jackson, he doesnt like to talk. Jackson accepts Henry like this and is always nice to him while calling him his buddy. Then Henry overcomes his shyness one-day when the garbage truck leaves before Henrys mother is able to bring the garbage cans to the curb. Henry runs after the truck in an attempt to stop it, and then he eventually musters up enough courage to yell stop! The truck then turned around and Henry feels proud for being the hero by stopping the truck. Both of these books are good examples of situations where the shyness is accepted and the child eventually comes into their own.Parents and teachers play a crucial role in a childs life, because of this, parents and teachers can foster shyness with their actions without even knowing it. Not only can a parent who is highly critical train a child [to be shy], but even the ge...
