Adversity
As I ran with some Form boys along the beautiful Cramond sea front recently, one of them started crying. I noticed, with mild alarm, that his face was bright red, his breathing was sharp and a bit raspy and tears rolled down his pink cheeks. I heard a little whimper “Sir, sir, I can’t breathe.” Not what you want to hear on a run with children. Once he’d slowed down a bit (in the eagerness of youth he had started the run too fast) he steadied his breathing. We soon found a rhythm and he managed all 5km, but not without a struggle. There were more tears, more complaints and quite a lot of general discomfort. At the end of the run, though, he felt relief, satisfaction and elated with the feel-good factor of endorphins running through his body.
As teachers, we nurture and support the children in our care but we have to push them out of their comfort zones, expose them to adversity and allow them to fail. We cannot let children grow up with everything they want without having to work hard at something. Adults know the sting of failure, the discipline of practice and the worthiness of struggle all benefit us by making us attached to reality. It is a tough old World out there. And I think we need to encourage our children to face adversity so they can grow resilient and strong, rather than empty and weak.
AP
Posted on