How to teach emotional resilience

Last Sunday there was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald entitled:  Schools Must Teach Emotional Resilience: Study.  The problem is that some high school students have no resilience.  They are apparently incapable of saying no to drugs, alcohol and unwanted sex.  And there are now calls for the government to include emotional resilience in the national curriculum.  

Presumably teachers then will teach this valuable set of skills to the teenagers.  I did notice that the words parent and family did not appear in the article, but a discussion of that curious omission might be the subject of another message.  For the next two weeks I will address this issue of emotional resilience.  What is it?  How can it be taught?  And to what end?

First question:  what do people mean when they use a term like emotional resilience ?  In the article it is defined as impulse control, conflict resolution and relationship building .  I agree, and I would add: the courage to admit error and apologise; a knack for forgiveness being able to shrug off minor slights, and to deal robustly but fairly with major ones; an instinct to praise others when appropriate; patience and perseverance through times of challenge; the ability to accommodate boredom; an empathy with others, and an understanding and concern for how they think and feel.  

Next week we ll look at how this can be taught, and why.  Stay tuned.

My apologies: the answers to the puzzle from a fortnight ago were: Deutschland, Suomi, Myanmar and Bharata

This week’s puzzle:  If you were blindfolded and transported around the world, and the blindfold were removed, which city would you be in if you were looking at: 1.  The Golden Gate Bridge; 2.  The Taj Mahal; 3. The Lincoln Memorial; 4.  The Duomo of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Gilbert Mane
Headmaster