Chaplain's Corner

Hi Everyone,

With the district cross country event this week, I began thinking about the importance of instilling the personal value of PERSEVERANCE in our children. 

Perseverance is very important for kids to develop because life is full of challenges-- and perseverance is what helps you get through the difficulties to get to what you are aiming for.

Even though it feels so hard when you are working through a challenge, perseverance keeps pushing you through to your goal and to the good feeling that comes with knowing you did your best.  Taking the easy way out by cheating, quitting, or avoiding a situation doesn’t make the challenge go away. It just makes you have to deal with it at a different time. 

In a culture of instant gratification, one of the best gifts that we can share with young children is to teach them the ability to persevere when faced with challenges. For children to develop these skills, they must have opportunities to take on challenges, problem-solve, and pick themselves up to try again. 

Encourage and teach self-encouragement: Everyone wants and needs to be encouraged. When children are encouraged, it helps them to feel motivated, with the ability to develop their own inner voice to power them through challenges later in life. Give children mantras to repeat when they are frustrated, such as "If you don't succeed, try, try again!" and "I think I can, I think I can!" 

"You just kept trying and didn't give up... You must feel so good that you finished!" This will help encourage children to find a sense of pride in their effort and ability to keep trying.

 “Hope is a function of struggle"                                                              What does that mean?  When we don’t allow our children to experience struggle, failure and disappointment, we take away their hope. The hope that there is always a chance to overcome a struggle. The hope that when you fail, you can try again and succeed. The hope that when you feel disappointed, there is always a chance to experience success.

All this does not only apply to schoolwork or sport.  It can also be applied to dealing with the challenges of friendships, living through the current COVID pandemic, following interests/hobbies, working towards goals, learning a new skill, to name a few.

SO, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE CROSS COUNTRY RUN THIS WEEK – CONGRATULATIONS FOR PERSEVERING, FOR YOUR EFFORTS AND FOR ACHIEVING YOUR PERSONAL BEST!

Take care & stay safe and well!

 Robyn Mulholland (School Chaplain) robyn.mulholland@education.vic.gov.au