Building Confidence and Resilience in the Classroom
Adam Rockenbach
I help schools promote student behavioral health while minimizing the impact on teachers' and staff workloads.
Perseverance is an essential skill for both students and educators, enabling us to overcome challenges, view setbacks as opportunities for growth, and cultivate enduring confidence. This week’s newsletter highlights ways to nurture perseverance in students using engaging activities, impactful storytelling, and evidence-based strategies to enhance self-confidence.
?? Listen to a podcast on raising confident, resilient kids.
?? Explore The Story of Ferdinand and a creative floral art project.
?? Guide students in self-reflection with letter-writing activities.
?? Learn how teacher confidence impacts student success.
Join us in exploring effective methods to foster perseverance and cultivate a classroom atmosphere where both students and teachers can excel.
This podcast provides:
?Tips to create “I can do” kids.
?How to use the “4 crucial Cs” to help raise happy, resilient, confident kids.
?How to help kids have more confidence when they are comparatively “slower” than their peers in different developmental areas.
?How to talk to kids who have poor self-esteem or who are convinced “they can’t” do it.
?The script for when your child is struggling.
?How younger children and perhaps less “capable” become more confident and self-reliant.
?How can we help kids who are not typically developing or who have special needs to become “I can do” kids?
?How to help kids maintain a positive sense of self-esteem during divorce.
This podcast is meant to be listened to by teachers, not shared in the context of the classroom.
"The Story of Ferdinand" follows the tale of a gentle bull named Ferdinand, who prefers smelling flowers in the meadow to participating in bullfights. Despite societal expectations, Ferdinand stays true to himself, promoting the message of non-conformity and the importance of embracing one's peaceful nature in the face of external pressures. Confidence leads to perseverance by reinforcing the belief that setbacks are temporary and surmountable, encouraging continued effort toward goals.
Art Activity: "Floral Bull Prints"
Materials Needed: Drawing Paper, Coloring Utensils, Craft Paper or Real Flowers, Glue, Scissors
Instructions:
?Discuss Ferdinand's love for flowers and how he stands out from other bulls.
?Encourage the children to imagine and draw their version of Ferdinand, focusing on incorporating floral elements into the artwork. For example, they could draw a bull relaxing in a field of flowers or create a unique floral pattern on the bull's body.
?Provide the children colored markers, crayons, or pencils to add vibrant colors to their floral bull portraits.
?Cut out flower petals and leaves from craft paper or use real flowers if available. These will be used to decorate Ferdinand's surroundings or as additional details on the bull's body.
? Encourage the children to express their creativity by arranging and gluing flower petals and leaves onto their artwork, enhancing the floral theme.
?Once they have taken time to adorn Ferdinand, have students think about their "favorites" and what helps them to "stand out" positively. They can brainstorm and share these words with their peers. Students will write these words in the background of their art pieces.
?When the artwork is complete, have a sharing session where each child can explain their floral bull portrait and their choices in representing Ferdinand's peaceful and unique character.
Understanding and accepting yourself is key to developing self-esteem and resilience, as is the ability to reflect. Writing letters to themselves can help children build these essential skills.
Here are a few different letter-writing activities you can try with students:
?Letter to your future self: children should write a letter to their future self about what they would like to do and accomplish by the end of the school year. At the end of the year, return the letters to students so they can reflect on how far they’ve come. If they didn’t fully reach their goals, celebrate their progress and talk about the lessons they’ve learned that will help them.
?Letter to your past self: have your students write about the achievements they’re proud of, the mistakes they’ve learned from, and what they can do differently going forward. If this letter brings up negative feelings for your students, remind them it’s not too late to make changes. Help them brainstorm steps to create the positive changes they’d like to see.
?Thank you letter to yourself: In this activity, students write thank you letters to themselves about the qualities they’re happy to have, the achievements they’re proud of, and so on. An alternative to this activity is to have students write thank you letters to important people, as practicing gratitude boosts positive thinking and confidence. Older children may enjoy writing thank you letters to their classmates (and reading about why their classmates feel grateful for them, too).
Teacher confidence, referred to as “self-efficacy” in research journals and “swagger” by fans of Matthew McConaughey, isn’t just valuable for educators to possess—it’s essential, especially to building perseverance for a long career. Several studies summarized by School Psychology International associate teachers’ high self-efficacy with better classroom management, closer relationships with students, and high-quality lessons