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In a world where we are encouraged to project ourselves living our best lives on the vast selection of social media platforms that are now available, is it becoming increasingly more difficult for young people to accept failure?
Collaboration and teamwork are a key focus for us following the pandemic, and we are consciously getting young people to engage in debates and to find solutions together.
Reflection and evaluation are essential parts of teamwork, and it is important that we teach children to have the courage to acknowledge their mistakes and how by doing this, they can forever learn and improve. Having the confidence to challenge someone’s ideas or the humility to accept a challenge and adjust ways of thinking will enable all of us to succeed. It is important for them to learn the skills needed to handle these situations before they enter the workplace.
Following the last two years of the pandemic, the young generation has demonstrated an incredible amount of resilience and adaptivity, and they are already fearless of so many things. Statistics show that their levels of academic achievement are already showing ‘bounce back’ and what is resilience if it is not ‘bounce-back-ability’?
Showing our children that having the courage to challenge someone else or to readily accept a challenge to their own ways of thinking takes courage and as with everything, the more they practise this, the easier it will become.
Following the last two years of the pandemic, the young generation has demonstrated an incredible amount of resilience and adaptivity, and they are already fearless of so many things. Statistics show that their levels of academic achievement are already showing ‘bounce back’ and what is resilience if it is not ‘bounce-back-ability’? By trusting themselves to make the right decisions, trusting their teachers to help them to overcome obstacles, and working as a team with an endless supply of hope and the determination to succeed, our children are already thriving as we emerge into the post-pandemic world. How many of them had experienced online learning two years ago? How many of them knew how to organise their learning schedules and ensure they met deadlines daily? These characteristics are now second nature to most of our post-pandemic learners and we need to continue to nurture these skills in them.
Resilience comes from overcoming fear, but resilience does not come without a price. It takes a toll on our strength over time, so we must take care that our children feed their levels of resilience by taking care of themselves. To stay resilient, we all need to sleep well, drink water regularly, exercise, and perhaps most importantly, keep having fun. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable is so important and I truly believe that the younger generation is already learning that you don’t need to project ‘your best life’ every day. Some of them are already withdrawing from certain social media platforms and learning to be more present and tethered in the here and now.
We want our pupils to have the confidence to challenge, the curiosity to seek better solutions, and the kindness to both pose and accept a challenge graciously ... to develop the skills, they need to succeed in an uncertain world.
- Helen Wilkinson is the Head Mistress at Brighton College Abu Dhabi
