Chris Chivers (Thinks)

  • Home
  • Blog-Thinking Aloud
  • Contact
  • Contents
  • PDFs
  • Sing and strum

Grit and resilience

7/12/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
Or choices and consequences.

For anyone who has not read my personal story, I think I have some insight into the potential for life to throw things at you. I am also well aware that some people have had greater things to cope with than me. For all the challenges I am content with my lot.

Life offers challenges, opportunities, experiences at different levels to each and every one of us, unless we live in a self-contained bubble and don’t participate. It is something of a truism that children today don’t enjoy the same freedoms which my generation did, to explore the surrounding area without worry, to play together, or climb trees, until caught, in a local recreation ground. I walked the couple of kilometres or so to school aged 5, crossing roads by myself. These experiences developed personal capabilities and a certain amount of self-reliance.

If children are not able to experience the world through their own eyes and through their own decisions, but have to rely on an adult to make the decisions for them, they are somewhat disabled in their growing experiences. We want our children to be safe and secure and I do remember the first time my own children went off on their own into town, a kilometre away, in the days before mobile phones. That they went, got back safely and wanted to talk about what they had done in the interim was a rite of passage. Their confidence raised our confidence as parents. They had demonstrated their capability and independence in decision making.


Picture
Today, we hear that there are proposals for “lessons” in grit and resilience. In a school system that has almost systematically embedded a spoon feeding culture, how will it be done? Put children out n wet days without a coat, to see how it feels to be cold and wet? Deprive them of food for a time to experience hunger? Not let them have access to their current screen of choice? Or will we see a return to extended cross-country running, or some other physical exertion, to feel real physical exhaustion.

Because, in reality, grit, determination and resilience are internalised, personal to each and every one of us. Some have more than others. This can be our ability to tolerate discomfort or pain, in different forms, mental or physical. We sometimes don’t know what we can endure until we are tested.

Independent decision making is a part of this process; making appropriate choices when faced with a problem. Working together as a team can sometimes be problematic, but success can be as a result of collaboration. Life is after all a glorified team work exercise. Getting on with someone can be testing, at times.

Thinking back to my active teaching days, which extended through headship, my aim was always to develop independent learners, with decision-making an integral part of as many learning challenges as possible. My classroom, set up as a “learning workshop” enabled an instruction such as “Make a picture to represent autumn” would allow the children choices of materials, composition and the direction of their working together, as they always made such pictures in twos or threes, so decisions were corporate. Other subjects were treated in the same way. As someone is likely to be asking if teaching occurred, the answer is a resounding yes, with the tasking checking that the teaching had been embedded, and remediated within the task as necessary.

Children will not become resilient through lessons, which are likely to become exhortations to effort. Making learning challenges such that effort is needed, over time, so that grit, resilience and decisions are in-built, might just offer a greater chance of success.

Then again, life might already have given some of the children their life-time’s quota of resilience. Imagine a refugee child, who has had to flee conflict. School does not often mirror real life, so is not always a preparation for those things that will be encountered.

You just need to know them well, challenge them appropriately and support, guide and mentor to need.


3 Comments
John Shepperd link
8/12/2014 07:49:48 am

Interesting article and you are right to highlight that resilience is strengthened when you have been through adversity however you can give children and young people skills make them more resilient right now. Many young people have been through and do face adversity in their daily lives through their experiences at home, school or with peers. Family break down, bullying, mental health, poverty, abuse, neglect, bereavement, relationship break down, loss etc impact our young people. Some, as you said, cope and some crumble and, as a result, the effect can last a lifetime. It is clear that children living in poverty often show a greater resilience as adults due to the adversity that they have survived, but not all. Some don't cope and continue to struggle into adulthood.

However we can equip them with some teachable skills to enable them to be more resilient when adversity does strike - which it will, for everyone, at some point. Developed by Lyn Worsley and the Resilience Centre in Sydney, The Resilience Doughnut explicitly looks at resilience and enables children and young people (and adults!) to identify areas of their life that are working well for them at the moment. Resilient people have resources that they can use, they feel good about themselves and they are able to do things to help themselves. Crucially they are discovering these things for themselves.

The research carried out on The Resilience Doughnut model has clearly demonstrated that children and young people are better able to cope when adversity comes along when they have been through this process discovery. This model is being used across the world, including by organisations such as World Vision to support families struggling to cope and with families who are about to face severe difficulties. You can teach people the skills to cope better so that they get through adversity and come out even stronger. www.johnshepperd.co.uk

Reply
Chris
8/12/2014 09:00:15 am

Hi John,
Thank you for taking time to put a note on the blog and for the detailed information that you have shared.
I think it is possible to raise awareness of the hazards that life might hold and it is possible to reflect on how you might deal with situations. It is often when in the scenario for real that one learns how to really cope, based on real life decisions, which can be very limited, or non-existent.
I think we don't talk sufficiently about death and bereavement for example. It is often an afterthought, when people are already in a state of trauma.
I will certainly have a look at he model that you have mentioned.
Thanks again,
Chris

Reply
John Shepperd link
8/12/2014 02:53:55 pm

No problem. Yeah have a look at it. It is based on the belief that If something is working for you then do more of it. It's not teaching 'how to' but allowing them to identify existing strengths in their life (based on the segments of the Resilience Doughnut) It is these strengths that they can then access during times of adversity. This then means that when facing adversity they are better able to face it and deal with. It also allows us as adults to identify areas of a child's life that are working for them so we can encourage them to develop these areas. Very simple but highly effective. Info and links on my website as well. www.johnshepperd.co.uk/resilience-doughnut

John

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Chris Chivers

    Long career in education, classroom and leadership; always a learner.
    University tutor and education consultant; Teaching and Learning, Inclusion and parent partnership.
    Francophile, gardener, sometime bodhran player.

    Archives

    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Assessment
    Behaviour
    Differentiation
    English
    Experience
    History
    Home Learning
    Inclusive Thinking
    Maths
    Parents
    Science
    SEND
    Sing And Strum
    Teaching And Learning

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
    Click to set custom HTM L
Proudly powered by Weebly