In today's challenging world, resilience has become one of the most important qualities a student can develop. Whether facing academic pressures, social challenges, or personal adversity, resilience allows students to learn from setbacks, and thrive in the face of difficulty. But how can teachers foster this critical skill in the classroom? You Good? You Good! E Pai Ana Koe? E Pai Ana! is a particularly effective programme for students aged 8-12 years to develop skills needed for managing anxiety and stress. It is based on intentional, empathetic, and proactive teaching strategies.
What is Resilience?
Before exploring how to build resilience, it's essential to understand what it means. Resilience is adapting to and overcoming challenges without losing motivation or hope. In an educational context, resilient students persevere despite academic struggles, social dynamics, or personal hardships. They can manage setbacks in ways that helps them grow rather than become discouraged.
Why Resilience Matters
Students today face a range of challenges, from increasing academic pressure and mental health struggles to complex social media dynamics and economic disparities. In this landscape, the ability to be resilient helps students:
Improve problem-solving skills: Rather than being stymied by challenges, resilient students find ways to navigate obstacles.
Increase emotional regulation: Resilience builds emotional intelligence, helping students manage their feelings and responses more effectively.
Enhance academic achievement: Students who can recover from setbacks are more likely to succeed long-term, even in the face of failure.
Promote well-being: Students who develop resilience can better cope with stress, reducing the likelihood of mental health struggles.
The Teacher's Role in Building Resilience
Teachers play a pivotal role in helping students build resilience. Teachers can shape how students approach adversity. Here are some ways teachers can foster resilience in their students:
1. Foster a Growth Mindset
One of the first steps in building resilience is encouraging a growth mindset – the belief that students can develop abilities and intelligence through effort and learning. Teachers can do this by praising effort rather than inherent ability, framing mistakes as opportunities for growth, and encouraging students to view challenges as manageable rather than insurmountable.
For example, instead of saying, "You're smart," a teacher might say, "You worked hard on that project, and it shows! You're getting better every day." The teacher reinforces the idea that effort leads to improvement.
2. Create a Safe and Supportive Classroom Environment
Resilience will thrive in an environment where students feel safe, respected, and valued. Teachers can build this environment by setting clear expectations for behaviour, promoting inclusivity, and demonstrating empathy. A classroom that encourages emotional expression and mutual support helps students feel connected to their peers and confident in their ability to navigate challenges.
Regular check-ins, open conversations about well-being, and mindfulness practices can also create a supportive atmosphere where students feel comfortable acknowledging difficulties and asking for help.
3. Teach Coping Strategies
Resilience involves knowing how to cope with stress and setbacks. Teachers can integrate strategies into the curriculum or daily routines to help students develop emotional resilience. Some effective coping strategies include:
Mindfulness techniques (e.g., deep breathing, meditation)
Self-talk (e.g., replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations)
Problem-solving skills (teaching students to break down big problems into manageable steps)
By incorporating these strategies into daily lessons or classroom activities, teachers give students tools to rely on when facing challenges.
4. Model Resilience
Teachers can be powerful role models for resilience. When educators demonstrate how they cope with challenges, fail, and try again, they show students perseverance is a valuable life skill. For instance, sharing personal stories about overcoming obstacles or demonstrating how to handle mistakes openly helps students see that setbacks are not permanent. Such sharing fosters an understanding that failures are part of the learning process.
5. Provide Opportunities for Autonomy and Responsibility
Giving students a sense of control over their learning fosters resilience by teaching them to take ownership of their actions and decisions. Teachers can encourage autonomy by offering choices within assignments, allowing students to pursue projects that interest them, and providing opportunities for them to work independently. When students make decisions about their learning and feel responsible for their outcomes, they develop the confidence to face challenges head-on.
6. Encourage Perseverance and Patience
It is crucial to teach students that success often requires perseverance. When students see that hard work and persistence lead to results, they are more likely to keep going when things get tough. Teachers can encourage this by setting long-term student goals, celebrating small victories, and reframing challenges as opportunities to practice perseverance.
For example, a teacher could say, "This might be hard now, but if you keep practising, you'll get better. It's okay to make mistakes along the way – that's part of the process."
Conclusion
As educators, it's essential to remember that resilience is not an innate quality but a skill that teachers can nurture through intentional efforts. By fostering a growth mindset, creating a supportive classroom environment, teaching coping strategies, and modelling resilience, teachers play an instrumental role in helping students develop the ability to bounce back from adversity. In doing so, they equip students with the emotional strength and mental tools they need to thrive academically and personally.
Building resilience is not just about helping students overcome challenges—it's about empowering them to emerge more assertive, confident, and better prepared for whatever lies ahead. Through their dedication, and with the guidance of curriculum aligned programmes such as You Good? You Good!/E Pai Ana Koe? E Pai Ana!, educators can make a lasting impact on the resilience of the next generation.
Written by Elaine Dyer, co-founder of The Jade Speaks Up Educational Trust.
Elaine Dyer is a respected New Zealand educator, facilitator, and programme developer known for her extensive work in emotional literacy, violence prevention, and teacher training. She co-founded the Jade Speaks Up Educational Trust and co-developed the "You Good? You Good! / E Pai Ana Koe? E Pai Ana!" programme, which supports 8–12-year-olds in building emotional resilience and safety.
Elaine's career spans decades of leadership in community education and social change. She served as CEO of Violence Free Waitakere and was instrumental in initiating Youthline’s Action Education. Her experience includes facilitating and supervising programmes in prisons and communities, both in New Zealand and internationally. Elaine is also a published author and conference presenter, recognised for her ability to train and support facilitators working with vulnerable groups.
Her work is grounded in empathy, empowerment, and practical strategies that help children, educators and communities thrive.
