Resetting Resilience.
Joanna Severino
Founder & President | Prepskills Inc. | US College Expo | Private School & US College Admissions
This finding really causes concern: 1/2 the Canadians surveyed say mental health has worsened during COVID-19 pandemic:
A recent Angus Reid survey suggests "44% are worried, 34% are grateful and 30% are just bored" so what does this mean for family resilience and the academic futures of students?
This was a reason that we started our PrepOnline Virtual series for parents to help maximize the learning potential for children, and mental health and resilience is a key element in this. The series kicked off April 29th. Michelle Dowling and Dr Ganz Ferrance joined us on the recent online webinar to talk about how families and educators can help students navigate through and manage anxieties related to academics and their future.
Charmaine Hammond, my co-host is an expert in resilience and shared some practical suggestions to support parents in building family relationship and resilience. There were many tangible and helpful takeaways from this conversation, see below:
One way to support students is to reinforce that there are things that are out of their control at this time, and instead, focus on what it is they can control or influence. Remind students what is not changing. For many this will create a stronger sense of stability and certainty. Creating routines and structure can also help families in many ways including providing children with a sense of control.
Michelle reminded us that even though we were all going through this together, we are all experiencing it differently. Everybody deals with change, crisis, adversity, and challenges in different ways including within our families. It's important to recognize that your children may not cope in the same way that you do as a parent, and that your children may all cope differently as well.
Conflict will often surface during times of change in crisis. It may feel in your family that old issues and even conflicts that were put to rest long ago start to surface. It is important to deal with these quickly and effectively. On the webinar the guests also discussed how to ensure safety in families where the situation may be more volatile.
Michelle talked about the importance of being there and she covered the five golden rules to be there for friends and family. The webinar and the resources below provide more detail on these five rules.
(Ps this is my son Nathan who shared a great perspective on resilience with us).
It takes courage to get through these tough times. We are all trying new things, juggling many balls in the air, and dealing with a lot of uncertainty. “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow'.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher. This is also a time where children and students learn through observation and modeling. As adults, educators and parents how we show up really matters. Modeling courage, optimism and resilience will be a life skill that students will carry into their future and their education. You can inspire hope simply by how you show up.
To listen to the webinar, and the incredible tips our guests shared, please visit:
https://learn.prepskills.com/index.php/april-29/
To access all other recordings from this series visit: https://learn.prepskills.com/index.php/recording-signup/
Here are the resources that were mentioned in the webinar:
Dr. Ganz Ferrance: https://askdrganz.com/
https://askdrganz.com/blogs/podcast
https://askdrganz.com/products/the-me-factor-audio
Michelle Dowling: Jack.org
Jack.org's COVID-19 Resource Hub is a great place to find all kinds of info for mental health and selfcare
– Head to BeThere.org (or Etrela.org in French) to learn to support someone struggling with their mental health
– Kids Help Phone https://kidshelpphone.ca/ and LGBT Youthline are both great resource for youth looking for someone to talk to
Article that Charmaine referenced https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadians-angus-reid-pandemic-survey-1.5545594
Founder & President | Prepskills Inc. | US College Expo | Private School & US College Admissions
4 年Thanks for sharing Ganz.
Navigating Conflict | High Pressure Communication | Workplace Culture | Workplace Collaboration | Speaker, & Trainer | I help teams Work Better Together. #SupplierDiversity. WBE Canada Certified business.
4 年Great to be part of this series. One of the things I know for sure from all the work I have done in resilience is that building resilience is sort of like a bank account. We have to keep depositing into our resilience bank account or when we need it, there is nothing left. Little actions every day such as unplugging, a walk outside, time spent on a hobby, taking a nap, drinking lots of water, eating healthy, journaling, meditating, doing an act of kindness goes a long way in building resilience.... which also supports our mindset, helps us cope and strengthens relationships. It was a pleasure to be a part of this online conversation.