According to Masten, Best, and Garmezy, 1990, resilience can be defined as "the capacity for or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances" (AFT, 2012 p.34). In my experiences as a school counselor, I have dealt with many resilient students who have faced challenges that the average person may be unable to relate to. It is my job as an educator to instill many of these qualities relating to resilience in order to help them lead a productive and positive life outside of the school setting, and succeed to their upmost potential.
This year however, I have noticed a theme in one of my classrooms on my caseload, which happens to be one of the most challenging group of students that I work with throughout the …show more content…
Throughout the discussion, they showed very little emotion, and put blame on other students. Then, when discussing their home life in individual sessions, 5 of the 6 students became very emotional. They talked about the ways in which they have mistreated their mother at times, as well as the issues they were struggling with relating to not having a male figure around. It was evident to me that these students have had to deal with a lot of adversity and just needed some support, support that they may have not received in past schools or with previous teachers and counselors. In group counseling sessions, I have created unique lesson plans with the goal of helping students succeed in both their educational career, as well as in their life outside of school. The goals of many of my lessons emphasize responsibility, respect, communication and teamwork. I feel if they can respect themselves and others, especially female staff and whomever they live with that this would be a step in the right direction. I also feel if they understand that they are not alone and that others are in similar circumstances it would be …show more content…
We can promote positive social connections between staff and students, among students, and between schools and home. Positive qualities including empathy, optimism, or forgiveness should be nurtured through these relationships as well as included in lessons throughout the day and teachable moments. If given an opportunity to use those qualities and skills, we can avoid focusing on failure or negative behaviors and instead teach by example and train staff to develop the same qualities as a more effective approach to building resiliency and improving the entire culture of the
This year however, I have noticed a theme in one of my classrooms on my caseload, which happens to be one of the most challenging group of students that I work with throughout the …show more content…
Throughout the discussion, they showed very little emotion, and put blame on other students. Then, when discussing their home life in individual sessions, 5 of the 6 students became very emotional. They talked about the ways in which they have mistreated their mother at times, as well as the issues they were struggling with relating to not having a male figure around. It was evident to me that these students have had to deal with a lot of adversity and just needed some support, support that they may have not received in past schools or with previous teachers and counselors. In group counseling sessions, I have created unique lesson plans with the goal of helping students succeed in both their educational career, as well as in their life outside of school. The goals of many of my lessons emphasize responsibility, respect, communication and teamwork. I feel if they can respect themselves and others, especially female staff and whomever they live with that this would be a step in the right direction. I also feel if they understand that they are not alone and that others are in similar circumstances it would be …show more content…
We can promote positive social connections between staff and students, among students, and between schools and home. Positive qualities including empathy, optimism, or forgiveness should be nurtured through these relationships as well as included in lessons throughout the day and teachable moments. If given an opportunity to use those qualities and skills, we can avoid focusing on failure or negative behaviors and instead teach by example and train staff to develop the same qualities as a more effective approach to building resiliency and improving the entire culture of the