The roots of resilience in children and young people
From animations by Juliette Ttofa
Two short animations explain, first of all, what resilience is and how we can nurture the resilience of children and young people, particularly in school settings and secondly, how schools and other educational settings can use the five 'Roots of Resilience' to increase the resilience of vulnerable children and young people.
Resilience has been described as the process of, capacity for, or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances.
The capacity for overcoming adversity is not a rare or fixed trait that we either have or have not. Rather, resilience arises from common processes that allow many individuals to adapt, recover, or thrive, even in dire circumstances.
Resilience is therefore a variable quality that derives from a process of repeated interactions between a person and favourable features of the surrounding context in a person’s life.
To use the analogy of a tree, resilience comes from having strong, wide roots that reach deep down into the ground in order to prevent the tree from being toppled over by storms or high winds, and allow it to right itself even when knocked off balance. When we are resilient, our roots reach downwards - into ourselves - and outwards, towards community and connection, so that we feel safe, grounded and nourished, and can then blossom.
Children need a nurturing environment for resiliency potential to be realised. An environment where they...
- Feel safe, loved and cared for
- Feel empowered
- Feel engaged
- Feel connected
- Feel able to cope
These are the five "Roots of Resilience".
Watch this 6 minute animation on what resilience is and how we can nurture the resilience of children and young people:
Here is the second 5 minute animation on how schools and other educational settings can use the five 'Roots of Resilience' to increase the resilience of vulnerable children and young people:
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From animations by Juliette Ttofa, 27/05/2020