Developing Resilience Article · Developing Resilience There is no better time to talk about...
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Developing Resilience There is no better time to talk about resilience than in the current COVID-19 pandemic that we are all facing. The ever increasing restrictions, the need to go back to remote learning and the uncertainty of the future all require agility, flexibility, adaptability and above all, resilience. Resilience is a familiar word and has been around for some time now. It is the ability to cope with life’s ups and downs, setbacks and challenges and being able to emotionally bounce back from these with your wellbeing fairly intact. Clinical psychologist, Andrew Fuller says that “resilience is the art of bungy jumping through life as if you have an elasticised rope around your ankles which helps you bounce back from hard times”. Resilience is essential to mental health, and children who have resilience are able to manage stress, setbacks and difficult events more readily. Research suggests that those who are resilient have a lower incidence of mental health difficulties later in life and have more satisfying lives and greater emotional wellbeing. A Harvard University report recently published by the Alliance of Girl’s Schools Australasia looked at resilience in adolescents and asked why some children are resilient whilst others are not. The research identified four factors that predispose some children to be able to be resilient in the face of adversity: • Having at least one stable and supportive child-adult relationship (“I feel connected”) • Feeling they have a sense of self control and self-belief over life circumstances (“I can overcome hardships”) • Possessing emotional self-regulation which enables them to adapt and cope with difficult circumstances and manage their behaviour and emotions (“I can control how I feel”) • The support of faith, hope or cultural traditions that ground them when they are faced by stressors or difficulties (“I have confidence that I can overcome this ”) The main significant factor, according to this report, is having a stable supportive relationship with a caregiver, parent or other adult such as a teacher. When children are surrounded by caring adults that provide them with coping skills to deal with difficulties, they thrive. As parents, caregivers and schools we all have an important part to play in building children’s resilience and equipping them with the necessary and essential skills, which will prepare them for life’s challenges. How parents can help to build resilience • Help children to accept that life can be difficult, sad and disappointing at times. Don’t overprotect them from frustrations and allow them to sometimes sit with distress and
Transcript of Developing Resilience Article · Developing Resilience There is no better time to talk about...
DevelopingResilienceThereisnobettertimetotalkaboutresiliencethaninthecurrentCOVID-19pandemicthatweareallfacing.Theeverincreasingrestrictions,theneedtogobacktoremotelearningandtheuncertaintyofthefutureallrequireagility,flexibility,adaptabilityandaboveall,resilience.Resilienceisafamiliarwordandhasbeenaroundforsometimenow.Itistheabilitytocopewithlife’supsanddowns,setbacksandchallengesandbeingabletoemotionallybouncebackfromthesewithyourwellbeingfairlyintact.Clinicalpsychologist,AndrewFullersaysthat“resilienceistheartofbungyjumpingthroughlifeasifyouhaveanelasticisedropearoundyourankleswhichhelpsyoubouncebackfromhardtimes”. Resilienceisessentialtomentalhealth,andchildrenwhohaveresilienceareabletomanagestress,setbacksanddifficulteventsmorereadily.Researchsuggeststhatthosewhoareresilienthavealowerincidenceofmentalhealthdifficultieslaterinlifeandhavemoresatisfyinglivesandgreateremotionalwellbeing.AHarvardUniversityreportrecentlypublishedbytheAllianceofGirl’sSchoolsAustralasialookedatresilienceinadolescentsandaskedwhysomechildrenareresilientwhilstothersarenot.Theresearchidentifiedfourfactorsthatpredisposesomechildrentobeabletoberesilientinthefaceofadversity:
• Havingatleastonestableandsupportivechild-adultrelationship(“Ifeelconnected”)• Feelingtheyhaveasenseofselfcontrolandself-beliefoverlifecircumstances(“Icanovercome
hardships”)• Possessingemotionalself-regulationwhichenablesthemtoadaptandcopewithdifficult
circumstancesandmanagetheirbehaviourandemotions(“IcancontrolhowIfeel”)• Thesupportoffaith,hopeorculturaltraditionsthatgroundthemwhentheyarefacedby
stressorsordifficulties(“IhaveconfidencethatIcanovercomethis”)Themainsignificantfactor,accordingtothisreport,ishavingastablesupportiverelationshipwithacaregiver,parentorotheradultsuchasateacher.Whenchildrenaresurroundedbycaringadultsthatprovidethemwithcopingskillstodealwithdifficulties,theythrive.Asparents,caregiversandschoolsweallhaveanimportantparttoplayinbuildingchildren’sresilienceandequippingthemwiththenecessaryandessentialskills,whichwillpreparethemforlife’schallenges.Howparentscanhelptobuildresilience
• Helpchildrentoacceptthatlifecanbedifficult,sadanddisappointingattimes.Don’toverprotectthemfromfrustrationsandallowthemtosometimessitwithdistressand
uncomfortablefeelings.Letthemknowthatyoucareandaretheretooffersupport,butatthesametimereinforcethatyoutrustthattheycanmanagethesituation.
• Iftheyfeelbad,remindthemthatdifficultfeelingsaretransientandtemporary.Encourage
themtothinkofemotionslikewethinkabouttheweather:changeable,transientandattimesuncontrollable.Thishelpsthemdealwithdifficultandemotionaltimes.
• Modeloptimisticthinkingandresilienceyourself.Acknowledgethatyoufeeloverwhelmed,afraid,anxious,sadandangryattimesandthatthisrangeofemotionsisnormal.
• Helpthemdevelopahabitofpersistencewhenthegoinggetstoughordifficult,orwhenthey
arefacedwithobstacles.Talkingtoyourchildabouttimeswhenyoupersistedeventhoughyoufeltlikegivingupplaysanimportantroleinnormalisingchallengeandmodellingresilience.
• Helpyourchildtoidentify,expressandmanagetheirstrongemotionsmoreeffectivelyby
havingregularconversationsandaskingquestions.
• Don’tsolveproblemsforthembutassistthemtodeveloptheirownproblem-solvingskills.Youmayneedtohelpthemfindwaystodothisbycoaching,encouragingandpromptingthemthroughouttheprocess.
HowwebuildresiliencehereatCGGSAtCGGSourWellbeingFrameworkisinformedandunderpinnedbycurrentresearch,recognisingwellbeingasadynamicconceptthatexistsonacontinuum.Ourframeworkincorporatesfivekeywellbeingdomains;RespectfulRelationships,PositiveEducation,EnvironmentalAppreciation,CognitiveEngagementandHealth.Ourstudentslookholisticallyattheirwellbeing,inanage-appropriateandsequentialmanner.AnessentialcomponentofthisisthewellbeingcurriculumthatistaughtexplicitlythroughourclassteachersinEL–Year6andthroughourForm&TutorprogramatYear7–12,whichinvestigateandprovidepracticalapproachestoenhancingstudenthappinessandwellbeing,includingthedevelopmentofresilience.YearLevel WellbeingTheme UnitsthatpromoteResilience
EL–Year2 Understandingme
BuildingResilienceandValuingEveryone–BRAVEwellbeingprogramUnitsarerepeatedandbuiltuponageappropriatelyinatwo-yearcycleEmotionalLiteracy
Year3-4 Buildingconnections
Year5-6 CommittingtoChallenge
ChallengesandChoicesPositiveIIdentityPersonalStrengthsHelpSeekingPositiveCopingHealthyBody-HealthyMindProblemSolvingStrategiesDigitalWellbeing
7 ConnectedCommunity RespectfulRelationshipsEmotionalLiteracy
8 Self-Discovery HealthyMindsProgramRespectfulRelationships
9 PersonalGrowth SocialandEmotionalLiteracyProblemSolvingandPerspective
10 PurposeandPassion PositiveCopingPurposeandPassionEmergingLeaders
11 ForwardThinking Self-CareStrategiesForwardThinkingLearningtoLead
12 FutureThinking Self-CareStrategiesFutureThinkingLeadershipinPractice
Aspartoftheseunitsweexploreconceptssuchas:
- Socialcompetencies,personalvaluesandpro-socialvalues- Optimismandhope- Purposeandpassion- Connectedcommunityandsupportnetworks- Problem-solvingskills,includingconflictmanagementandcopingstrategies- Positiveself-image
CGGS’sapproachtoteachingresilienceispartofawhole-schoolapproachandonewhereitismodelled,communicatedandvisibleinallaspectsofourschoolculture.Thewellbeingprogramat
CGGSworksalongsideouracademicprogramandthisisfurtherreinforcedintheLeadership,Fivedation,House,Mentor,ServiceLearning,Careers,Co-CurricularandCampPrograms.Ultimately,weknowthatbycreatingasafeandsupportiveenvironmentwherestudentsfeelsupported,valuedandunderstood,weareabletosetthepreconditionsthatenablestudentstoflourish,todevelopresilientandcourageousmindsandasaresult,leaveCGGSasproductiveglobalcitizens.Thewellbeingprograms,initiativesandactivitiesatCGGSaredesignedtohelpstudentsbuildresilienceandexploretheworldandtheirfutureswithasenseofdirection,engagementandoptimism.Theprogramsandactivitiesalsogivethemanopportunitytodiscoverandlearnaboutthemselves,othersandtheworldaroundthem.BethSarlos(SchoolCounsellor)KathWoolcock(DeputyHeadofSeniorSchool–StudentWellbeing)
