Teaching Students to Overcome Adversity

This week in Physical Education class, I posted a question on the projector for the students to see and reflect on. The question is, “What can you say to yourself that will help you overcome something in life that is challenging to you?” The goal is for students to learn how to overcome obstacles whether it’s at school, home, with friends, or at sports. We want students to feel they can overcome anything! I want to equip students with the tools and knowledge that will prepare them to make positive choices at school and in the community.

Finding Strength in Challenges

Adversity is hard/draining. Next time you’re in that situation, remember the motto of the Navy SEALs- FULL BENEFIT! Use adversity as an opportunity to get better, grow stronger, to change, to heal, to learn, to teach. The full benefits of adversity can literally change your life! Never back down in the face of adversity. Your breakthrough is coming. It can make us stronger and more resilient, help us to develop new skills and perspectives, and give us a greater appreciation for what we have. Research has shown that people who have faced significant adversity in their lives are often more successful than those who have not.

Building Character and Resilience

Overcoming obstacles is an essential part of life. It teaches us valuable lessons, builds character, and can help us reach our highest potential. It’s not something to be feared or avoided; rather it should be embraced as a necessary part of personal growth and development. Without adversity and failures, there would be no room for growth or the development of resilience. Adversity teaches us valuable lessons about ourselves, the importance of discomfort, and the power of endurance. It is through overcoming obstacles that we discover our inner strength and realize our full potential.

The Role of Positive Self-Talk

Self-esteem helps kids do better at school, at home, and with friends. Kids with low self-esteem feel unsure of themselves. If they think others won’t accept them, they may not join in. They may let others treat them poorly and have a hard time standing up for themselves. Children who have a sense of self are able to challenge themselves. This helps them become independent and secure to face challenges in other areas of learning. If children do not feel a sense of security, they may not be able to settle into their environment and may struggle to learn or develop. With continuous positive self-talk we can develop a healthy image of ourselves and, in turn, boost our self-confidence.

Positive thoughts mean positive emotions, behaviors, and producing a better outcome. Negative thoughts often lead to negative emotions, behaviors, and poorer outcomes.

Inspiring Future Growth

In my exercise, each student was given a post-it note and a pencil to place on the mat. I was amazed to read their responses. Their responses demonstrated that they are equipped to make the right choices in the future. My goal is to provide students with information about their skills and talents by saying more then simple encouragement like “Good job!” and “That’s great!” One way to encourage students and teach them responsibility is to get them involved in the classroom. Make participating fun by giving students the opportunity to express their voice and allow others to learn from their responses.

Some examples from students are, never give up even though it’s hard. I can do this! Don’t give up, you got this! It can be hard sometimes but keep going! You are amazing, you can do this! I have noticed after i give students to read other students’ responses that they have learned new phrases that will help them later in life when they need a moment of inspiration.

Our job as teachers is not to “prepare” kids for something; our job is to help kids learn to prepare themselves for anything. This quote is on a poster leading into my gym.