Fostering Resiliency

Patricia Gándara says in her book Over the Ivy Walls:
"Our increased understanding of the factors that lead to failure has not appreciably diminished the rate of failure. Perhaps a better understanding of what leads to academic success will yield more fruitful outcomes….An important element missing from most research has been the insights which can be gained from an understanding of how students who don’t fail, in spire of adverse circumstances, manage to escape that fate." (pp. xii, 9)


What Gándara says resonates with the work of Martin Seligman on "learned helplessness" and with the work of others (Benard, Henderson, and Werner) on resiliency. Rather than a focus on deficits and causing our diverse learners to feel like victims, giving them the tools to be successful in spite of whatever happens to them will be more productive.


Nan Henderson shares what a young man who had spent most of his life in dozens of foster homes told her about what helped him the most. He said that it was the people along the way who gave him the message, "What is right with you is more powerful than anything that is wrong with you."


We can give our diverse learners this message by helping them to draw upon their resiliency. The new edition of Resiliency In Action edited by Nan Henderson can help us know how to do just that.


The book is divided into seven parts:

Part One: The Foundations of Resiliency

Part Two: Resiliency and Schools

Part Three: Resiliency and Communities

Part Four: Resiliency, Connections: Mentoring, Support, and Counseling

Part Five: Resiliency and Youth Development

Part Six: Resiliency and Families

Part Seven: Resiliency and the Brain


I haven't read the book, yet, but I have read Resiliency: What We Have Learned by Bonnie Benard, and it was excellent, and I've also read work by Emmy Werner. Therefore, this new book is definitely on my reading list, and I would highly recommend that it be put on yours as well.

Hispanic Youth Risky Behaviors: Family an Answer

Hispanic adolescents are at higher risk for substance abuse and risky sexual behavior than other ethnic groups, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to a study that was published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology a family-centered program that improves parent-child dynamics and family functioning is more effective at discouraging Hispanic youth from engaging in risky behaviors than programs that target specific behaviors. The favorable outcomes shown by the findings are even more significant and noteworthy when it is noted that most of the sessions were conducted only with the parents.

One explanation for the success of a program such as this is that a program that involves the family is more consistent with Hispanic culture. The Hispanic culture is a culture that is family-centered and one in which the family is depended upon for emotional support.

What I Want For My Child...and All Children

Yesterday I posted this quote:
John Dewey quote
“ What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child,that must the community want for all of its children."

After doing some pondering today I would like to expound on what I would want for my child...and therefore, would want for all children....from our schools:

A safe, caring, inviting, challenging environment that would....

• value, respect, and honor his and his family's language, culture, and assets

• believe that she can learn and use assessments to take her from where she is to where she isn't...and use scaffolding and building upon her background knowledge to bridge the gap

• broaden his horizon by exposing him to new "worlds" of history, literature, science, the arts, languages, current events, etc. that inspire and enrich him

• provide her with opportunities to learn the skills she'll need for the 21st Century

• help him develop his unique talents and interests and know and use his learning style--teach him rather than content

• see her not only for what she is but also for what she can become

• help him become an involved citizen who is committed to serving others and making the world better

In other words, do whatever it takes, so all children can BE their best--now and in the future.

Response To Quality Research

Last summer the famed Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam was hesitant to publish the results from a 5 year research project he and his colleagues had conducted. He feared the implications some people would attach to what their research had discovered concerning how immigration challenges community cohesion. In fact, his concern was so great, the results were first published in the quarterly Scandinavian Political Studies.

Dr. William Jeynes could have had similar concerns when he published the results of his research which revealed the positive effects of religiosity and two parent families on closing the academic achievement gap.

Too often this kind of research is rejected because it is interpreted as blaming the victim. I would suggest that any quality research should not be dismissed just because it doesn't confirm our beliefs. Rather it needs to be valued for the insights it provides.

For instance, the research from Dr. Jeynes can help us see that if we want to close the achievement gap, we need to find ways to strengthen the family. Sharing with families the part they can play in making a difference in the academic achievement of their children is not blaming them. Not sharing this information with them is irresponsible, and even unethical.

Yet, we also want to be extremely sensitive to single parent families and not put them on a guilt trip. We need to find ways, as educators and as a community, to be supportive of single parent
families. Supportive doesn't mean denying the facts. It means finding creative ways to fill the gap.

Robert Putnam's reaction to his own research is impressive. He responded to it not by denying what the research said, but by saying in essence, "Now that we have this information, what can we do about it?"

As leaders who want to make a difference for diverse learners we must look at what quality research says. We do this by not taking a defensive stance against it, but by following Robert Putnam's example, "How can I use this information to benefit diverse learners?"