Understanding Perseverance
Perseverance is the steadfast pursuit of a goal or task despite challenges, obstacles and setbacks. It is the resilience to keep going, even when faced with difficulties. As we all know, life is filled with ups and downs, and developing the ability to persevere is a fundamental skill that will serve our children well in their academic and personal lives.
Why Perseverance Matters
- Academic and Social Success: Perseverance is a key predictor of academic achievement. When students face academic challenges, the ability to persist through difficulties contributes significantly to their learning and growth. Socially it is also very important for our children to learn to persevere when they are having difficulty with friendships. Our UR Strong Program stresses that “No Friendship is Perfect”; we therefore must teach our children how to persevere with friendships even when things aren’t going as planned.
- Building Resilience: Life is unpredictable, and learning to persevere helps children develop resilience. Resilient individuals are better equipped to cope with stress, adapt to change, and bounce back from setbacks.
- Achieving Goals: Perseverance is the driving force behind the accomplishment of long-term goals. Whether it’s mastering a new skill, completing a project, or excelling in sports, the journey often requires dedication and perseverance.
Teaching Perseverance at Home
- Set Realistic Goals: Help your child set achievable goals. Break larger tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, and celebrate small victories along the way. As you achieve each goal, reflect on each smaller challenge and the strategies that were used to overcome the challenge. These strategies can then be referred back to during future challenging moments.
- Model Perseverance: Children learn by example. Share your own experiences of facing challenges and how you overcame them. Emphasise the importance of persistence. Sign up to a family challenge together such as a fun run or undertaking a long hike. This way, perseverance can be modelled in real time. Sorry, a Netflix movie marathon will not have the same impact.
- Encourage a Growth Mindset: Much has been written about the benefits of having a Growth Mindset and we cover Growth Mindset often as part of our WAVE curriculum throughout the College. Foster a mindset that embraces challenges as opportunities for growth. Teach your child to see setbacks as temporary and as chances to learn and improve.
Promoting Perseverance at School
There are many things we do at Investigator College to promote and foster perseverance.
- We Create a Supportive Environment: Our College community plays a vital role in nurturing perseverance; we encourage a positive and supportive atmosphere where students feel safe to take risks and learn from mistakes. This is done through the myriad of opportunities we provide our students with both in and out of the classroom. At Investigator College, failure happens. What we learn from each failure, though, is as important as success.
- Provide Constructive Feedback: At Investigator we offer feedback that focuses on effort and improvement rather than just results. This helps children understand that the process of learning is as important as the outcome.
- Celebrate Effort: We continue to recognise and celebrate the hard work and determination that students demonstrate. Highlighting their efforts reinforces the idea that perseverance is a commendable quality.
Together, as a community committed to the growth and development of our children, we can inspire and cultivate perseverance. By teaching our children to embrace challenges with resilience and determination, we empower them to navigate the complexities of life with confidence and optimism.
Thank you for your continued partnership in fostering a culture of perseverance at Investigator College.
