Fostering childhood resilience: A call to educators

Abstract

An educator’s function exceeds traditional subject teaching. It includes monitoring and enhancing a child’s physical and emotional well-being. Today’s children face a plethora of risks and educators are on the front line of the defensive. To build childhood fortitude, the authors call on teachers to become aware of the characteristics of resilience and to make its construction a component of their standard curriculum and teaching strategy. The article provides teachers with a checklist of indicators and a list of techniques that educators can use to boost students’ positive development in the classroom. Ideally, the model can be incorporated into general and special education classes.

Keywords:

• Adverse childhood experiences
• at-risk children
• protective factors
• resilience

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ronald L. Gardner

Ronald Gardner is an ESL instructor and has a doctorate in Peace and Conflict Resolution. His research interests include student intervention, cross-cultural comparative analysis, and conflict resolution.

Tammy L. Stephens-Pisecco

Tammy L. Stephens-Pisecco is an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas. She has a doctorate in Special Education. She is an educational diagnostician, a former special education teacher, an assistant professor, and co-founder of C-SEP. Her research interests include assessment and intervention practices and the implications of resilience on learning.