[throwawayjava]

This is absolutely my experience -- even a few positive reinforcements ("Wow, that was a super clever idea! I wouldn't have thought of solving the problem that way!") can change students' mindset, at least in a particular class/subject.

It's amazing how few students are actually as bad as they appear to be on first pass. I basically go into every student/teacher interaction assuming the kid is above average, and I'm very rarely disappointed. That's because "average" is often pulled way down by issues surrounding self-image and study behavior, both of which have no bearing on raw ability.

Basically, "confidence + hard work" is usually enough to take a kid from below average to slightly above average.