6 minute read
Keynote: The Time for Resilience
THE TIME FOR RESILIENCE
Eoghan Kerr | Head of Earth House, DESC
Resilience really is a buzz word at present. In the past, we may have used other words – toughness, hardiness, grit or, my personal favourite,
‘bouncebackability’ – the concept of failing one year to come back fighting strong the next. Regardless of the word, learning to bounce back is tough but so crucial for life and success. At DESC, we have been exploring a range of character strengths to help equip students with the knowledge and understanding they need to be successful, courageous and resilient learners – and ultimately, great people. There is no denying that our DESC community live in a privileged society. Dubai is an amazing place to live, having the opportunity to experience many of the modern wonders of the world as part of our normality. DESSC has been voted as the Best School in the United Arab Emirates, meaning our students’ educational experience is second to none. So, you might wonder, how much resilience can our students develop, given that they have, relatively speaking, very little hardship to endure?
Giving your children the best opportunities in life is one of the main goals of parenting and it is often the parents’ own resilience and hard-work that enables this to happen. But by working so hard and putting everything in place, are we as parents hindering the development of our own children’s industry and persistence?
Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful football manager of alltime, winning 38 major trophies in 26 years at Manchester United. One of the questions that gets directed his way most is, ‘how did you continue to motivate your players?’ Bearing in mind that he managed superstars such as David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were of course multi-millionaires with the world at their feet by the age of 20, Sir Alex always claimed to have
asked them what their grandparents did for a living, and made sure they appreciated that their elders worked very hard to provide for their family and played a huge part in them being where they are today.
Another way in which we can ensure our children remain grounded, whilst also fostering teamwork and independence, is through household chores. Children doing chores helps instil a basic work ethic and acceptance that completing the small tasks is important. The bonus is, if they do so, research claims that they will also be more successful. In one of his most famous speeches, US Navy Admiral William McCraven advocated that if you want to change the world, start by making your bed.
How many times have you heard yourself say, ‘back in my day, we didn’t do/have/say that’? As educators and parents, we must appreciate that growing up in the modern world is different. In many ways it is an easier and more efficient place but living in a fast-paced environment with high expectations, brings its own set of stresses. Research on the cumulative stresses faced by ‘first-world’ children, compared to those in wartorn countries, brought about very surprising results. Shockingly, the effects of both stresses were broadly similar in terms of the physical and mental impact on the children affected. This, together with facts around children’s mental health in general, is a stark reminder that a child’s development cannot be left to chance and must be monitored carefully. There are many variables and distractions available to young people, who may not be mature enough to determine what is helpful or healthy.
At DESC, we have adopted an approach that identifies, tracks and develops the various components that make up a person’s character. This is based on the work of the VIA Institute on Character, whose research suggests that using your character strengths effectively helps to:
Improve your relationships
Enhance health and wellbeing
Buffer against, manage and overcome problems (resilience).
This process begins in Year 7, during our GROW (Getting Ready for the Outside World) lessons, where students complete the VIA survey which helps them discover their greatest strengths out of the total of 24, which are divided between six Virtues. The Virtue of Courage containing the characteristics - Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty and Zest - is the most closely aligned to resilience.
Upon completion of the survey, students are provided with the 24 character strengths in rank order (1-24) and are encouraged to reflect on whether they feel this is an accurate portrayal. They are then asked to explore school subjects, extra-curricular activities and even careers which are aligned to their natural character composition. Students complete the survey each year, to monitor if there have been any changes and explore how their strengths are developing.
In the background, teachers are actively ‘strength spotting’. Interacting with and observing students, both in and out of lessons everyday, enables our staff to reward students based on them exhibiting any of the aforementioned elements of character. We track these rewards and acknowledge students who really live up to their strengths. For consistent awards, commendation letters are sent to parents and the students are nominated for our respective House prizes - DESERT Demeanour / EARTH Ethos / SKY Stars / COAST Culture, or even a “Student of the Term” award.
In addition to praise and rewards, DESC ensures that each student is given one-on-one time with their tutor, at least once per term. The aim is to make sure every student is listened to and feels supported
in their journey from childhood, through adolescence, to becoming an adult. Staff will ask questions about the child’s likes and dislikes, friendships and things they are struggling with and present them with thought-provoking scenarios to get an idea of their decisionmaking process and potential reaction to adversity. All of this is done whilst referencing their character strength portfolio, hence we call these meetings “Character Conversations.”
Developing resilience is therefore firmly within our curriculum. We value the diversity amongst our students and appreciate that some
have a greater natural capacity for resilience or have had more exposure to its development. Knowing that other students struggle to persevere and selfregulate can also be beneficial, as we can help teach them ways to cope and overcome moments of difficulty when they arise. Knowing and accepting that we all have a unique character composition is what is key to allow those innate strengths of our children to flourish, as well as addressing areas for development in the correct manner. Netherlands, recently recounted a great conversation he had with his own 14-year-old, which helped alter his own mindset as well as that of his son. Taking the time to really find out about your child’s understanding of character, strength and resilience will not only benefit them, but will encourage your own awareness of character too. Next time you have these conversations, allow yourself to be proud as you realise the strong and resilient young adult your child is growing up to be.
“As parents, you will often have ‘character conversations’ with your child, whether formally or in an informal setting. We appreciate that as children become teenagers, dialogues can become rather less fluent but this doesn’t mean that the advice passed down cannot have a big impact. Robin Van Persie, former footballer for Arsenal, Manchester United and the
