Laurie A. Gray, JD
Learn the key components of resilience and how literature can encourage the kind of creativity and independent thought that cultivates resilience. This workshop combines the Socratic Method and young adult fiction to inspire students and connect them to possibilities beyond their current life experience.
What is resilience? How is it cultivated?
How can we use literature to
cultivate resilience?
The capability of a strained body to recover
its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress (physical sciences)
The ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens (social sciences) ~Merriam-Webster.com
External
Internal
Support
Commitment to
Empowerment
Learning Positive Values Social Competencies Positive Identity
Boundaries and
Expectations Constructive Use of Time
© 2006 Search Institute
12-year-old, homeschooled preacher’s kid meets a homeless teen at the library and convinces her to live secretly in his church for the summer.
Who am I? Where do I fit in?
A sexually assaulted teenager resists conformity and discovers the freedom of selfexpression through the physical forms in taekwondo and the poetic forms of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Maybe I Will, Chapter 12, pp. 69-71 What is Justice? What is Truth? What is Fair? What is Good? What is Life? What is Freedom? What is Integrity? What is Character?
The capacity to do well when faced
with difficult circumstances. Requires both resistant and constructive qualities ~Stefan Vanistendael International Child Bureau (BICE—Bureau International Catholique de l’Enfance)
Empirical –based on testing or experience Flexible—change rooms, add a garden, doors,
staircases…In Chile people spontaneously added a heating system to express the “cariño;” create neighborhoods/communities Comprehensible—simple representation of complex
reality Adaptable—to cultures/individuals
Stop looking for ways to compensate
for deficits and weaknesses and focus on strengths and how to use them. Forget about Correction and focus on
Connection and Creativity
"We no longer need people to follow directions in
robot-like ways (we have robots for that), or to perform routine calculations (we have computers for that), or to answer already-answered questions (we have search engines for that). But we do need people who can ask and seek answers to new questions, solve new problems and anticipate obstacles before they arise. These all require the ability to think creatively."
“Give childhood back to children” published at www.independent.co.uk (Jan. 12, 2014)
More than just culture or climate. Feeling connected. School culture (policies, procedures
and handbooks) School climate (positive or negative environment)
Adopted by schools in Netherlands, Belgium, France
(3-5 years to embrace fully) CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and
Emotional Learning in Chicago): Mission is to make social and emotional learning an integral part of education from preschool through high school.
a sweater knitted from developmental, emotional and social strands of wool. ~Boris Cyrulnik
“I don’t write contemporary fiction. I write resilience fiction.” Speak (1999): Acquaintance rape Catalyst (2002): College admissions Prom (2005): Friendship Twisted (2007): Bullying Wintergirls (2009): Eating disorders The Impossible Knife of Memory (2014): PTSD
Characters have the ability to become strong,
healthy, or successful after something bad happens. Books don’t show a way out, but show a way through. Books show that dreams can overcome hardships. Characters learn to rise above their circumstances and do not give up.
Diary of Anne Frank Night by Elie Wiesel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
(1) learn and apply essential skills in reading and
writing; (2) read widely to build a better understanding of various types of texts, genres, and cultures of our country and those in other parts of the world; (3) read well; (4) acquire new information that will assist in responding to the needs of the workplace and society as a whole; and (5) make reading a lifelong pursuit. ~Indiana Department of Education
Literature courses provide students with opportunities
to respond to literature critically, reflectively, and imaginatively both in writing and speaking and to develop concepts and strategies for making independent critical evaluations of literature. These types of courses enhance students’ awareness of various cultures and develop a sense of identity. Literature courses include reading for pleasure and expose students to reading materials available in school media centers and public libraries. ~Indiana Department of Education
universal themes, such as the journey of the hero, the
trials of youth, the search for identity, and other themes appropriate to the level and interests of students. Themes illuminate humanity's struggle to understand the human condition. ~Indiana Department of Education
Struggling to understand the human condition cultivates resilience!
Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper Deadline by Chris Crutcher Endangered by Eliot Schrefer Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by
Sherman Alexie Please Ignore Ver Dietz by A.S. King
Resilience requires Connection and Creativity
Attachment theory developed by British pediatrician
and psychoanalyst John Bowlby (1950’s) Relationship-based education of Erik Erikson (1960’s) “Ego-resilience” coined by psychologist Fritz Redl (1970’s) Un Merveilleux Malheu” by Boris Cyrulnik (“Wonderful Woe” 1999; Resilience, 2011)
Greet students as they walk in the door LISTEN Validating feelings Model kindness, compassion, and respect Don’t judge Don’t take student behavior personally
REALLY LISTEN
You: i wasn’t raped, but my dad drinks, but i hate talking, but my brother was shot, but i am outcast, but my parents split up, but i am clanless, but we lost our house, but i have secrets – seven years of secrets and i cut myself my friends cut we all cut cut cut to let out the pain
speak changed my life cracked my shell made me think about parties gave me wings this book opened my mouth i whispered, cried rolled up my sleeves i hate talking but I am trying. You made me remember who I am. Thanks
Be student-centered Create a physically and psychologically safe and structured
environment. Use the students' own strengths, interests, goals, and dreams as the beginning point for learning Tap students' intrinsic motivation for learning Treat students as responsible individuals Encourage participation Let students express their opinions and imagination, make choices, and problem solve Let students work with and help others, and give their gifts back to the community
TEACH TO STUDENTS' STRENGTHS. TEACH STUDENTS THAT THEY HAVE INNATE
RESILIENCE. PROVIDE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR
STUDENTS by asking questions that encourage selfreflection, critical thinking and consciousness, and dialogue about salient social issues
Choose one of your most challenging students. Identify all personal strengths, and mirror them
back. Teach that the student has innate resilience and the power to create a personal reality. Create opportunities for the student to participate and contribute personal strengths. Be patient. Focus on small victories because they often grow into major transformations.
BOOKS Some of My Best Friends are Books by Judith Wynn Halsted (3rd Edition, 2009) Resilience by Boris Cyrulink (2011)
From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges Between
Young Adult Literature and the Classics by Sarah K. Herz with Donald R. Gallo (1996)
ARTICLES “Give childhood back to children” by Peter Gray, published
at www.independent.co.uk (Jan. 12, 2014)
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/give-childhood-back-to-children-if-we-wantour-offspring-to-have-happy-productive-and-moral-lives-we-must-allow-more-time-for-playnot-less-are-you-listening-gove-9054433.html
“Resilience: Abstract Concept or Survival Skill?” by Margot
Phaneuf, R.N., Ph.D. (2010)
http://www.infiressources.ca/fer/Depotdocument_anglais/Resilience_abstract_concept_or_su rvival_skill.pdf
Indiana Department of Education 2014-2015 High School
State Approved Course Titles & Descriptions (December 2013 Edition)
WEBSITES www.FosteringResilience.com www.Search-Institute.org www.CASEL.org http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/resilience
Laurie A. Gray, JD
[email protected] 260-750-6715 (cell) www.SocraticParenting.com
