January 2018

Success is a beautiful beast. To feel valued and needed is a huge factor in professional wellbeing and something we strive to achieve. I, like many, have changed roles and schools every 2–3 years, in the search for something new and exciting, looking for opportunities to grow. With each move, I’ve made amazing friends and colleagues, worked tirelessly to pursue different career options, all in the name of powerful student learning. I laugh when friends describe me as a bit of a machine, always churning out work, blog posts, reflections, and sharing new learning. I suppose it’s fair to say that in the last six years, I’ve been relatively successful.

But, what about the mistakes? I do not use that term lightly. In my world, a mistake is unlike an error. It is something that cannot be corrected and simply must be owned. Some may even equate it to failure — a powerful motivator and learning tool in itself. A mistake, to me, feels very much like the end of the world, albeit briefly. I enter a period of turmoil and heightened emotion, unable to claw my way back out of the pit and losing all sight of rational thought. Clearly, that’s not a healthy reaction and one that’s led me to reflect deeply on strategies for resilience.

It’s widely felt that students now have far less resilience than previous generations. A quick Google search brings up dozens of scholarly articles and posts from across the globe. PBS News recently reported:

“Coupled with an increase in diagnosable psychiatric disorders is a reported decline in average student resilience, writes research psychologist Denise Cummins.”

Something very disturbing is happening on college campuses. A 2014 survey by the American College Health Association found that 94 percent of counseling center directors reported a steady increase in the number of college students with severe psychological problems, and 89 percent reported an increase in the number of students arriving on campus who were already taking prescription medication for anxiety or depression.
Coupled with an increase in diagnosable psychiatric disorders is a reported decline in average student resilience.” (Cummins 2016)

There is so much focus on the younger generation — and rightly so — that the professional generation that supports them is seemingly overlooked. Adult resilience seems to ebb and flow far more than it does in children. The constant pressure to succeed, and visible rewards in doing so, mean that many of us meet failure head on but often do not have enough ‘left in the tank’ to proactively do anything about it. And yet, we find ourselves surprised by the lack of resilience, asking ourselves, where did it go!

Searching for strategies to draw yourself up from the bottom of the cliff feels a little like sending the ambulance down after you’ve already fallen. Of course, I’m not suggesting we do not rescue those who have fallen hard. What I am suggesting is that we need to actively notice the signs and prepare people for failure, while simultaneously promoting success. In waiting until the point of crashing, are we allowing the damage to be done when we could have actively noticed it earlier and found strategies to support? Constantly focusing on the positive and success is a wonderful experience and can, in some situations, bring happiness and cohesion to a staff. However, the need to let the pendulum centre itself and find a balance between positive focus and coping with mistakes is a need I see in many schools and institutions visited.

The American Psychological Association has a range of strategies for developing resilience and building on the skills already in place. These are just as applicable to adults as they are to students. I’ve incorporated some of their main headers below and tried to retain an educational lens.

Make connections

Knowing others share your struggle and accepting their help is key to mental wellbeing. As teachers, we isolate ourselves, focusing on student achievement and developing strong relationships with our learners. As leaders, we need to model the need for support and show students and whānau that it’s okay to seek help.

Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems

The old expression, ‘It’s not the end of the world’, just isn’t going to cut it here. Sometimes, it genuinely feels like it IS the end of the world. In this instance, the advice is simple. Breathe. Reflect. Share. Many with good intentions will dive headlong into the situation and attempt to help find a rational balance where there seemingly is none. As the person going through a crisis, the first step lies within. Breathe. Oxygenate the brain and decrease the heart rate. Let the adrenaline settle and, when ready, reflect and seek out someone to share with.

Accept that change is a part of living

I’ve written widely around change and resistance. It is, quite simply put, everywhere. Should the lacking of resilience manifest after a period of unsettlement and change, find time to return to your ‘Why’. The ‘How’ and ‘What’ remain adaptable as outcomes, while leadership and direction changes. Your ‘Why’ is a strong constant, and if powerful and well formed, will logically lead to reflection and redetermining.

Take decisive actions

By no means am I suggesting you must allow the irrational thoughts to dictate your immediate action. As you calm, find ways to own the challenge. If a mistake, apologise and mean it. We live in a world of semantics and often find ourselves on the end of apologies that, if unpacked properly, are not apologies at all. Anything that begins with ‘I’m sorry, but…’ just isn’t an apology. Likewise, ‘I’m sorry you feel that way…’ is quite the opposite to a genuine, heartfelt owning of a mistake.

If your resilience is challenged by a situation, take the time to breathe and strategise. Set clear goals to move forward and find both short and long-term steps to overcoming the difficulty. If it’s personal, find a way to talk. Avoid email and interpretable communication. Accept that, if other parties are not ready, then you have long-term steps to focus on while the dust settles. One thing remains constant, regardless of the situation — burying your head in the sand just isn’t going to help find a resolution.

Nurture a positive view of yourself and keep things in perspective.

We are not machines. Our humanness is what distinguishes us from the ones and zeros that make up the thinking of a computer. We have colour and beauty in our lives; sometimes it’s simply a case of opening our eyes. Nurturing a positive view is not a step to becoming arrogant. The more infallible we believe ourselves to be, the harder the fall becomes. Accept that it’s okay to make mistakes and find positive balances in family or outside of the classroom/institution. Find the things that make you smile and hold them close. A small mistake, despite often feeling insurmountable, needs to remain just that — small. Never underestimate the power of reflection and the strength of someone else’s perspective.

Reach out to those who can make a difference

Many of us find ourselves in a world where we are not our own masters. At times, it is the action of another that is the catalyst for turmoil. Autonomy is wonderful, but, we must not lose sight of the chain that enables us the freedom to both fail and succeed. Identifying those who control the situation, without seeking blame, is paramount to successfully move forward. Choosing some careful and honest words will highlight just how challenging a situation is when shared with someone who has the power to make a change on your behalf.

As we continue striding forward and into the unknown, many of those following do not realise the challenge a leader faces. In turn, the leader plasters on the smile and buries the challenges, both personal and professional, in the name of strong and stable leadership. And before we know it, it’s too late. The sleep has been lost, the irrational conversations have happened and we find ourselves lying at the bottom of a cliff, wondering when it all came crashing down. Hiding our struggles has a place. Not everyone needs to know or, indeed, cares about the trials and tribulations of our lives. Just remember those who do. If you’re hanging onto the edge or already halfway down, it isn’t too late to accept a rope — we simply have to remember to ask those we are closest to, to throw one down and hold on tight. And remember — if you choose the right person, they’ll never let go.

So, where did my resilience go? I don’t think it really went anywhere, it just took the support of an amazing friend and a little time to find it again.

Sources
Cummins, D. 2016 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/student-resilience-time-low/
The Road to Resilience, retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx (American Psychology Association)

Image Credits
I can’t see you… So you can’t see me: by Peter on Flickr under CC2
Mountaineer: Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash under CC0
Feature image: Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash under CC0

For most teachers, the beginning of a school year is an opportunity to look ahead with fresh eyes, thinking of our students and how best we can nurture and grow them as learners. In our schools, kura, and early years settings, there’ll be lots of activity around preparing the themes, topics, and resources required to inspire creative minds, not to mention the physical arrangement of the learning environments, scheduling of time, and allocation of tasks that will enable all of this to happen.

In the midst of this, many of us will be participating in some form of teacher-only time, where we take the opportunity to look at some of the ‘wider’ issues facing our work. For some, that may mean a fresh look at areas in the curriculum where learners need additional support, for others it may involve the introduction of some new, school-wide initiatives, while for others it may involve an opportunity to stretch ‘out of your comfort zone’ for a moment, and reflect a little on the bigger questions such as, ‘What is the purpose of education?’

The latter can be a challenging, and often uncomfortable, experience. How often do we hear “We live in exponential times!” to explain the constant pressure to change, and as an expression of the challenges ahead? But what does this really mean? And what are the implications for us as educators?

Wherever we look nowadays there seems to be another conference with keynote speakers professing to give a glimpse of the future — featuring examples of science fiction-type technological advances that are now becoming a reality. Whether it’s the prospect of flying cars, robots taking our jobs, or virtual reality providing places to hide from the real world, some find themselves endlessly fascinated with these ‘miracles’ of modern technology. For many, however, it can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and ‘powerless’ when these things challenge and even threaten the very basis of our established norms and practices.

The simple truth is that we are facing times of unprecedented change, with lots of it happening as a consequence of technology, and all of it impacting significantly on the ways we live, work, communicate, and spend our leisure time. Much of this change is ‘unpredictable’, being the unintended consequence of some sort of intervention – all of which adds to the dilemma of how we respond, both individually and collectively.

The concept of schooling has always been premised on preparing young people for life in the adult world — as contributors to the “economic engine” that underpins modern society. Our current education system, which emerged in the middle of the 19th century and was designed to serve the needs of the Industrial Revolution, is facing significant stress. There is an increasing perception that our education system is failing to meet the needs of modern society, leading to a plethora of ‘school reform’ movements across the world.

Today, education has to be about learning to thrive in a transforming world.

The statement above should be printed across the doorway of all of our staffrooms and on the cover of all of our planning documents as we look ahead to 2018.

We need to be asking ourselves what we can do to enable each and every child, whatever their starting point, to flourish and lead fulfilling lives and to become responsible and active members of society. We also need to be open to exploring together what is the role of education in creating a fairer society.

To work towards this, here are three things that may be helpful to frame some of your thinking and planning as you prepare for your learners as they return for the new school year:

1. Focus on building capabilities

We must do more to shift from a system that has been predominantly focused on ‘front-loading’ learners with the knowledge and skills required to function productively in future society, to one that recognises change as the constant and prepares learners, of all ages, with the strategies and capabilities to cope with and feel empowered within this world of change.

Our school curriculum and the pedagogical approaches we use must inspire and motivate our young learners to develop the kinds of capabilities that are key to leading successful lives. This includes things such as creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and communication.

As you prepare for the coming year, ponder these questions…

How are the key competencies in the national curriculum really addressed in what happens on a day-to-day basis in your classroom and across your school?
To what extent do your students and parents/whānau regard the development of key competencies as a priority?
What is the evidence you look for and gather to ensure these are being developed?

2. Learning as a disposition

It is now widely acknowledged that learning occurs across diverse contexts and throughout our lifetimes – not only at school! We know that learners accumulate knowledge, skills, and competencies in formal and non-formal settings, and understand that, without regular maintenance, some knowledge and/or skills may depreciate with time.

As a consequence, we need to ensure the focus of our education system is on learning (i.e., ‘how’ we learn), and less on the content (i.e., ‘what’ we learn). We need to foster the development of a learning disposition that will ensure the learner is able to engage with and learn about new ideas, new skills, and new thinking as required throughout their life.

The concept of life-long learning is well established in our rhetoric and many of our policy settings, but it often exists as a vague intention rather than being a strategically and explicitly planned part of how we think and provide this within our ‘organised’ learning systems. Thinking of how you might give a greater focus to this in your context in 2018, you might ask:

How might you build a ‘language of learning’ among your students, staff, and community, where these capabilities are prioritised and reinforced through the learning endeavour?
How do you recognise and acknowledge learning that occurs beyond the school boundary – in clubs and after-school groups, across all domains – cultural, sporting, academic etc.?
How are you and your colleagues demonstrating a learning disposition in your personal and professional life, and what is the evidence of this learning on your approach to the work you do?

3. Learning involves everyone

The percentage of children who struggle to engage with education for a range of reasons, often connected with poverty, is well documented. The task of addressing the broad range of learners’ needs in our modern society cannot be addressed by schools alone. There is a clear recognition that unless the difficult questions about how to improve outcomes for learners and their families are tackled, the aspiration to build a more equal society cannot be achieved.

Education is critical to social and economic development and has a profound impact on the wellbeing of all in society. The old saying; ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ has special significance nowadays, particularly as the fabric of ‘the village’ is not as well woven as it may once have been. We need to be exploring new ways of enabling the village to work together again — dispelling the siloed mentality that so often separates the very services and supports that need to be working together to create a learning society. Some questions you may ask as you reflect on your start to 2018 could include:

What opportunities do you create for multi-generational learning to occur in your context – i.e., adults in the classroom, evening classes, project-based mentors etc.?
What use do you make of community resources and contexts for learning? What about access to community expertise? Is this reciprocated in any way?
How are you embracing the richness of diverse cultural backgrounds represented in your ‘village’ — how are different groups learning from each other in this way?
How might you initiate or cultivate a learning focus in areas of your community other than school – e.g., within local libraries, local clubs, and service organisations, health centres etc.?

Let’s make 2018 a year when we focus more intentionally and explicitly on the development of key competencies/capabilities.

CORE Blog