CHARACTER EDUCATION
1 . Nurture self-awareness
• Resilient students reflect on negative and positive outcomes , unpick behaviours and find new strategies . Reflecting also helps to develop self-compassion , which can boost overall health and resilience ( Gordon , 2020 ).
• Invite students to ask themselves “ what makes me feel seen ?” and “ how do I have fun ?”
• Using a journal to reflect on both negative and positive behaviour will help students to unpick behaviours and find new strategies .
2 . Encourage positive self-talk
• Resilient students focus on their achievements . Teachers can reinforce by also giving positive strengths-based feedback , helping challenge negative thinking patterns ( Robson , 2022 ).
• Encourage students to focus on things for which they are grateful , perhaps at a designated time each day – such as just before they go to bed .
Mental Fortitude Training TM Table 1 . Examples of types of negative thinking patterns
‘ End of the world ’ thinking Catastrophising by blowing things out of proportion and thinking that the worst has , will , or may happen : ‘ I ’ m not ready to perform tomorrow – it ’ s going to be a disaster ’
‘ It ’ s all the same ’ thinking Overgeneralising by applying your own thoughts , feelings and attitudes across all people and situations : ‘ He didn ’ t say anything positive about my performance – this team aren ’ t supportive ’.
‘ Yes , but ...’ thinking Taking positive events and twisting them into negative ones : ‘ Okay , so everyone told me my performance was good , but nobody said it was great ’.
‘ Second guessing ’ thinking Making assumptions about what others are thinking and with negative repercussions for yourself : ‘ The coach looks bored . He ’ s not interested in what I ’ m doing ’.
‘ It can ’ t be done ’ thinking Looking into the future and predicting a negative outcome : ‘ I ’ ll never be able to improve my performance ’.
‘ Black and white ’ thinking Viewing the world in an either / or way , with little scope for grey areas : ‘ If I don ’ t perform now I ’ ll never get another chance ’.
‘ Taking things personally ’ thinking Viewing failures or negative feedback as a reflection of your own shortcomings : ‘ They said I could have performed better . I ’ m useless ’.
‘ It has to be perfect ’ thinking Viewing any mistakes as failure : ‘ I made a mistake – I never get it right ’.
‘ Should and must ’ thinking Constantly reminding yourself of what you should or must do : ‘ I must get off to a good start ’.
Flecher , D and Sarkar , M ( 2013 )
3 . Build confidence
• Teachers can build confidence by offering specific praise and highlighting fairness , integrity , persistence and kindness .
• Resilience can emerge from a focus on positive experiences and the application of learning to new situations .
4 . Survivor mentality
• Students develop a survivor mentality by singling out the things they can control rather than dwelling on the things they can ’ t ( Seligman , 2006 ). Try writing about a time when a door was closed for you but led to something positive .
• It is important to feel we have some autonomy ( Munroz , Brady and Brown , 2016 ). Students should be encouraged to develop self-efficacy and volunteer solutions themselves to given problems .
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