Resiliency Defined The ability of learners to develop skills to overcome barriers despite obstacles

Factors that may impede Factors that support Environmental Obstacles Resiliency Factors Factors that may impede Factors that support Environmental Obstacles

Factors that impede resiliency Some learners learn it through experience Some need help Variable opportunity to develop because of erratic environment, invariant role modeling by adults/mentors, uneven family or community supports

Factors that support resiliency Environmental supports Schools that promote controlled risk-taking For academics and social interactions Schools that provide “all” the choices Tell the “truth” Welcome every child Welcome every perspective But, establish the boundaries of action in a pluralistic society

Factors that support resiliency Teacher supports Expectations appropriate to learners to achieve high standards (not arbitrarily high or low) Opportunities for learners to “do the work”

Factors that support resiliency Family/Community supports In the context of genuine caring, Provide positive modeling Exhibit positive faith in children to make appropriate choices Find a way to integrate children and foster their positive contributions to family and community

What Do You Think These Factors Look Like in a Classroom? Who are the children/youth there? Who are you? How is your class reflective? Of them? Of you? Of the world you want for them? What do you strive to do?

Environmental Obstacles—Poverty and Affluence Re-Defined Lack of exposure to appropriate curriculum, instruction, and resources Low expectations of underserved learners Ill-prepared teachers Affluence Exposure to “privileged curriculum, instruction, and resources High expectations for affluent learners Narrowly prepared teachers

Resiliency and Learning What is resiliency for? Does education improve resiliency or does resiliency improve education?

The Purpose of Resiliency To help learners “Stay in the game” Learn the game Change the game

How Resiliency Improves Education Resiliency is about turning problem situations into manageable tasks that the learner can control Resilient learners see the goals they want, learn the sources from where obstacles to those goals originate, and determine a path around or through those obstacles In determining a path of action, resilient learners identify what it is they truly need to learn to accomplish their goals.

How Education Improves Resiliency Educators help learners see better goals and better choices to accomplish goals The “more you know”. . . Every decision a child makes is her/his best attempt to be intelligent (Glasser, 1989) Decisions are only as good as the options available to consider The more experiences and information one has, the more likely the decision is to reflect one’s best intelligence