The urge to stop is strong
But think about those rich rewards,
The shiny medals, trophies too
Or even just a finished ‘thing’
To show the world with bursting pride,
But oh, to give it up feels right,
When winning feels so out of sight.
I did a little crochet workshop for the students who have their exams coming up in the next term. It was only an hour and I expected them to make a lovely flower pin that they could take away and wear with pride.
But, oh my God, it soon became apparent that it was never going to happen. And it wasn’t because these students are unintelligent or unable to use their hands correctly; it was because their resilience is so poor.
Our school has a set of words that we consider to be our school values and resilience is one of those words. However, we don’t seem to get the kids to embody those values with any sense of enthusiasm.
I don’t think this is a problem that is isolated to just our school as I saw similar behaviour in my training schools. It is especially noticeable when doing something practical and kids just seem to throw the project down and give up when they first begin to find it hard.
I don’t know if it’s got anything to do with the time out of school because of COVID, but whatever the reason, students are finding it really hard to push through difficulties.
Of course, I may be a horrible crochet teacher and that’s why they all struggled so much. But I really hope that those students don’t give up everything that easily as I fear they will miss out on so much of life if they do.
Much Love
Rachel xx
Margot Kinberg
That’s such an important lesson, Rachel! We have to have resilience and keep going, even if something is difficult. That’s how we get better. A lot of people call it grit, and I think it’s a vital quality. Life isn’t always easy, fair, fun, etc., and it’s important for kids to learn how to deal with frustration, failure, and so on. Your modeling of keeping on with this and with your teaching is, I’m sure, helping kids to learn how to keep going, even during THOSE times.
Bridgette
I have two teenagers and I’ve absolutely seen them less capable of resilience than before the pandemic. They are reluctant to make plans, are less motivated to do anything and get overwhelmed so easy. I would have predicted the exact opposite reaction would occur, but I think it has something to do with their lack of confidence in those in charge. They are growing up in a time where truth feels relative and subjective, where nothing feels fully concrete or clear. It’s an uneasy feeling.
clcouch123
Shucks, I’m sorry they didn’t complete the pins. Such a good idea to have a lesson that would give the learners something literal to take away.
Greg Dennison
I think it has a lot to do with the culture of instant gratification that is so much more prevalent with this generation than previous generations… on-demand video, the need to be constantly connected and entertained, etc. No concept of waiting or working hard for a reward anymore. But I’m not an expert on the subject…