Resilience and Vulnerability

This week’s P-2 assembly was enlivened by the appearance of a Bluey clip that energised our students with its humour-infused message.  Recently, I read figures that related Bluey’s reach into 60 different countries, and numerous languages and it was streamed for more than 20 billion hours in the USA alone, phenomenal figures any production company would aspire to achieve.

But what is it that makes this particular show so loved? Yes, it is engaging for children, but I also would argue that it is a wonderful parental resource for families and their guidance of young people. The episode shown on assembly, “Bike” centres on Bluey learning to ride her bike. When frustrated enough to give up, she observes several of her friends dealing with their own set of challenges in and around the playground.

What struck me is the approach taken by Bandit, Bluey's dad.  Bluey's first response is to leave her own challenge and help her friends, but Bandit asks her to sit and observe. Slowly, each of her friends finds a way, through tenacity and persistence, to solve their problem, and all the while Dad has remained in his seat. This observation is enough for Bluey to give her bike riding another try.

Our children are our most prized possession. It is natural to hurt when we see them struggle in any situation. However, too often our eagerness to solve problems denies children a powerful learning moment, and often one that becomes hardwired for future situations. By saving children from the struggle, we are passively signaling that we don’t think they are capable, and it is hard to know how this affects individuals and their mindsets. Struggles don’t need to be huge or unattainable. Caring for your belongings, carrying your own bag, and making your own bed are small achievable wins that silently say, “I believe in you.” As parents, allowing them space and opportunity to achieve these wins assists in growing the capacity and self-worth of our children.

Every day I am witness to this process undertaken by adults and students in our learning spaces. During our assembly, the students were shown the “Learning Pit”. This visual clearly shows that learning and growth is not a linear process. It is full of challenges and self-talk. If it is easy, are we really learning new content, concepts or skills? But the rewards are almost always more than worth the effort. Regularly, I am excitedly approached by students who have created something new or accomplished a new skill. Their sense of agency is clear, regardless of their age.  We even relish this feeling as adults, particularly when working outside of our comfort zone or in areas that we are unfamiliar with.

Raising children can be challenging, but it can also be unbelievably rewarding. A wonderful resource to support parenting and to explore this concept further is the “Resilience” resources within School TV. This resource includes many quick and easy-to-digest videos that speak to the importance of resilience, the connection between vulnerability and resilience, and what role forgiveness has in the development of resilience.

Prep Information Evening

On the 1^st of November, we invite all new families of students commencing in 2024 to attend the Prep Information Evening. This year we commence with light refreshments from 4.30pm before the evening begins at 5.00pm. An invitation was sent directly to families this week with details.

Take care and God Bless.

Mr Damian Davis, Head of Staff and Students P-5