When asked how schools can best support children and foster resilience this is part of what Maya Angelou said:
"Teach because it's your calling. And once you realize that, you have a responsibility to the young people. And it's not a responsibility to teach them by rote and by threat and even by promise. Your responsibility is to care about what you're saying to them, to care about what they're getting from what you're saying."Resilience is very interesting to me. Personally, for myself and my children, as a teacher as I taught the poorest and neediest children in Head Start, and as a conscious community member as I help to build a community of strong and resilient people. Resilience is how America was born, it prevents you from staying in a poor situation. It is the part of us that says, "I deserve better" and then we do better.
What all of our goal for our children, all children, is to help them become creative, productive members of society. We want them to succeed, to learn, to have the curiosity that creates a better future. Not just some of the children, but all of the children. Resilience is the key for children to succeed, keep going, keep learning the hard stuff.
To be a Teacher, and all of us have an opportunity to be teachers, means we have to care about how we act and what we say. Care about what you say today, build resilience in those around you, especially the children.
Many Blessings :)
Bibliography
Handle with Care: A Conversation with Maya Angelou
Amy M. Azzam
September 2013 | Volume 71 | Number 1
Resilience and Learning Pages 10-13
