Principals Parenting News

Why is perseverance important for kids?

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 want. Sometimes the challenge is something hard for your body, like raking the leaves out of the entire yard or staying strong at the end of a long sports match. Sometimes it’s a challenge for your mind, like learning a new math equation or staying focused on something you need to do when you really want to be doing something else. Sometimes challenges are emotional like when you’re sad after a pet dies or when a friendship is breaking. No matter what the challenge, perseverance is important because it is the drive that helps you get through the obstacle to the easier bit on the other side. 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. Perseverance helps you get through the challenge, even though it’s hard, and gives you that warm feeling in your heart of knowing you did the right thing.

What’s the definition of perseverance?

Perseverance is the ability and self control that pushes you to work through challenges. Having perseverance means that when you are facing a challenge, you use your mind and your body to overcome it. Perseverance means you are able to wait and work through difficulties, whether they have to do with your mind, your body, or your emotions. It’s important to point out that the definition of perseverance is not “don’t give up no matter what” or “never quit”. Sometimes you’ll do your best but it will still be time to move on to a different goal. However, perseverance is the ability to do your best toward a goal, even though it’s a big challenge.

What does perseverance mean in real life?

You use perseverance everyday. If you figure out what you find hard to do, you’ll see where you use perseverance. Here are some examples:

Perseverance Example 1- School:

You’re doing school work and it’s your hardest subject. Maybe it’s a difficult math problem, or a long essay, or maybe you have to stand up in front of the class and present. Whatever it is for you, it’s tough. You’re struggling. You’re not sure you can do it. Maybe you even want to give up. You think about taking the easy way out and just doing the least you have to, even though you know it won’t be right.

But you know the work needs to get done and you know you have to do your best work. So you try harder. You stick with it and after some frustration and focus, you do it! You got it done and did it to the best of your ability. 

Defining perseverance: 

Perseverance is that drive that helps you keep working even when you want to quit. Why was perseverance important in this example? Because without perseverance, you wouldn’t have finished your work, or you wouldn’t have done your best work. Without perseverance, your grade would have suffered. Without perseverance you wouldn’t have learned what you needed to learn, and that might make the next lesson even harder. If you didn’t persevere and do your best work, your teacher might have had you do the whole thing all over again. Perseverance is important to get you through the challenge and because often spending the time and effort when it's needed keeps you from a more difficult outcome later.