Acquiring Courage
1/27/2018
After seeing our students perform in front of the entire school all week, I heard many adults confess to them, "You were so brave! I couldn't do that." We had a similar discussion in our classroom as we unpacked the school's mission statement and defined some of the big concepts, like exceptional learners, independent thinkers, vision, courage, and integrity. After telling students that courage is like another word they might know, brave, I told them how many of them were brave when they got on stage in front of the whole school. Right on cue, one of our students said, "Well, I wasn't brave! I was really scared." "But you did it anyways," I reminded him. "Having courage does not mean you are not scared; it means you do something anyways." In fact, courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens one. Matthew Kelly says courage is not the absence of fear but the acquired ability to move beyond fear. I love that he distinguishes it as an acquired ability. Courage is not only an acquired ability, but an important business (and life) skill. In an article on Harvard Business Review, Kathleen R. Reardon says, "Certainly, courage is sometimes a matter of life and death. [...] Yet, in my 25 years of studying human behavior in organizations, I've discovered that courage in business seldom operates like this. Through interviews with more than 200 senior and midlevel managers who have acted courageously--whether on behalf of society, their companies, their colleagues, or their own careers--I've learned that this kind of courage is rarely impulsive. Nor does it emerge from nowhere. In business, courageous action is really a special kind of calculated risk taking." We work hard to make our school, and each classroom in it, a safe environment for our students, one in which they feel comfortable taking risks and becoming themselves. Through social-emotional education and a carefully curated environment, we teach them to appreciate each other's quirks and unique viewpoints and contributions. When they feel comfortable and appreciated, they are willing to take small risks. As they take small risks, our students build the confidence and courage to take more risks. Although, it seems like just a twist on a traditional talent show, Brown Bag provided yet another opportunity for our students to take risks and acquire courage. All students, those who participated and those who did not, helped to create an environment in which the students who did participate felt comfortable enough to take the risk. Children are our future, and we are equipping each of our students to have the courage to positively impact the world in their own unique way. Comments are closed.
|
Hali TuomiMs. Tuomi has over five years experience in ASD, where she taught first and fifth grade classrooms. An avid skier, Ms. Tuomi is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Alaska Pacific University’s Bachelor of Arts in K-8 Education. Archives
April 2021
Categories |