Facilitating Resilience
Researchers began to wonder why some children living with high risk factors not only survived, but thrived. Werner and Smith (1982) were among the first researchers to study how youth self-right rather than focusing the deficits in a child’s life. Read the following brief biographical sketches. Each individual described managed to accomplish a great deal in life in spite of multiple barriers. Use these individuals or students with whom you work to identify protective factors that allowed for success and risk factors that must be managed. The two great lessons from this body of research are:
- All individuals, families,
schools, and communities have risk factors.
- It is not necessary to eliminate all risk factors in order to
facilitate resilience. Moderating the
effects of the risks by providing support where available and attending to the
strengths can often make the difference between success and stagnation or
regression.
Guess Who?
___1. Even as a small child, I wanted to be famous. Perhaps this is because my mother had told me that she could have been somebody if she had not gotten pregnant with me. I lived in an orphanage and with foster parents until I was 3 years old. My mother married 8 times. My dad was arrested for drugs and writing bad checks. He was a morphine addict. I was defiant, had low self-esteem, and had a poor attitude. Teachers thought that I was just uncooperative. I found out that I have a learning disability when my daughter began to have trouble in school. We both took some tests. Now I know that I didn’t learn to read until I was 18 because of the learning disability. I am not bad or stupid. I just didn’t learn things the same way that my friends did. You probably would recognize me for being a singer, actress, and Oscar winner.
___ 2. My dad left my mom before I was born. She moved to Mississippi and gave me to my grandparents. I learned about honest work from my grandfather who was a farmer. I learned about the power of words from my grandmother. At age 5, I moved to Michigan. By then, I had developed a stuttering problem. I quit talking to anyone other that my best friend Chubbie, a one-eyed crow, and Shep, the family dog by the time I was 8. I was afraid that I would be rejected by my family, teachers, and peers if I talked. When I was 15, a teacher thought I had plagiarized a poem. To prove that I had really written it myself, he demanded that I recite it on the spot in front of the class. Everyone was amazed that I had such a rich and moving presentation style. Mr. Crouch, my teacher, urged me to join the debate team. After that, my confidence really began to soar. You know me as the voice of Darth Vadar and Mufasa.
___ 3. My dad left my mom, brother, and myself when I was young. My mother was a strong person who always encouraged me to strive for my highest level of achievement. Mom and I didn’t know that I had a learning disability. By the time I got to high school, things were just too difficult for me. I dropped out of school. I also got involved with drugs such as marijuana and LSD. By the time I was 17, I knew that I needed help. I checked myself into a rehabilitation center. Before I finally got the opportunity to show the world what I could do, I had more rough times. For awhile, I lived on welfare. Because of what I know, I do as much as I can for single mothers, drug addicted youth, those with AIDS, and others in need. I have been nominated for the Academy Award and have received a Golden Globe and Image Award. I was also named the Humanitarian of the Year in 1989 by the Starlight Foundation.
Click on the chart below and identify the Risk Factors and Protective Factors at work in the lives of those highly successful individuals, as well as, the lives of your students. Knowledge is Power! Knowing what to look for in a young person that might be a key to his or her present and future well-being empowers us as parents and educators to empower the young person. Seeing the young person for who she can be and not limiting her by present challenges or circumstances is essential! The handout below the chart contains additional information.
resilience_.pdf | |
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