Life has its ups and downs, and with age we gain experience from the bumpy journey that is life. I’m sure most of us can remember facing disappointment or adversity and at times having to make difficult choices or seek new ways of doing things to keep moving forward.
Reflecting on the times when you’ve hit the wall, more often than not you can also pinpoint a person or people who you leaned on to help you back up. While sometimes we do pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, the reality is that we rarely operate alone. Some of the most effective resilience strategies involve being open to receiving advice and support. Internationally recognised Professor Dr Denise Quinlan, founding director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience, has studied this phenomenon which she terms the power of “collective resilience”.
Her research goes to the heart of what is needed to make progress with learning, which is the core purpose of school. Learning by its very nature requires the acquisition of knowledge and skills we cannot currently achieve. In order to maximise learning, it’s imperative to create spaces that feel safe to try out new ideas and skills; where learners can “fail fast”, and thus learn fast. Dr Quinlan states “We are each other’s environment.” A school’s culture needs to allow learners to feel like they’re part of a community where when they try and fail, those around them will encourage and support them. When this collective resilience is present, progress is optimised.
An important component when building collective resilience is involving families in their child’s learning. There are numerous ways to do this. One very successful example of this at Kristin is the student-led conferences that are a feature of the IB Primary Years Programme. Students invite their families into class for an extended “appointment” during which they take the lead explaining what they have achieved, and what their next steps are. This approach of putting the child at the centre of their learning and feeling knowledgeable and in control of what, how, and why they are learning develops a real sense of self-confidence and ownership of their progress. In this model the onus on the family is to listen, celebrate and support; creating the collective resilience that allows their child to be courageous in their learning.
You are your child’s cheerleader and support team so, not just today but any day, find out something they’re proud of, discover something you can help them with and share stories of times you were proud of an achievement or when you were faced with difficulty. Parents are one of the biggest influencers of how children view themselves. Your impact on their environment is crucial. If you reflect compassion, understanding, open-mindedness and confidence they will develop the self-belief to persevere and be resilient too.
