Lorraine you bring forward a great point that is key to the self-doubt of your students. Showing them respect and dignity and treating all students the same is a key element to your students feeling comfortable in your classroom. Higher Education today is becoming even more of a melting pot and not only with different and diverse backgrounds but different value systems and understandings due to age differences. The sooner you can get your students to feel comfortable with each other and with you as their guide, mentor and coach; the sooner their self-doubt will lesson and eventually have no impact on their ability to focus on the learning objectives. Regards, James Jackson