Development of courage

"According to Jordan, resilience involves the development of courage, which she defines as the capacity to move into situations when we feel fear or hesitation. She is adamant that it is not an internal trait but rather that ‘‘it is created in connection; we are encouraged by others’’ (Jordan, 2006, p. 86). She notes that as human beings, we are constantly in interactions that are either encouraging or discouraging."

(from Building resilience in pre-service teachers, Rosie Le Cornu)

How have you been encouraged to do something that you felt was important or necessary? Who was it and what did they do?

How have you encouraged someone to do the same?

When I met with Stuart Kirk last summer, Director of the Doctoral Program at the time, despite my utter panic and feeling flooded with fear, I told him that taking baby steps got me to his office. So he encouraged me to take the next baby step to apply and offered me support and assistance along the way. I have baby stepped it all the way to the end of the third quarter of the first year of the program - with lots of instrumental and moral support from Chris, Paolina, Lila, Nancy, Linda, Pia, Martha, Ailleth, Josh, Josefina, Jenna, Petra, Lorna, Marcela, Lorena, Maria, and all my family, friends and co-workers who show interest and support by asking how it's going at school.

When my daughter starts something new or challenging, she sometimes feels a lot of fear. I try to empathize and try hard not to dismiss her feelings while at the same time showing confidence that she can do it, have fun and learn. Despite the fear and hesitation, she has managed to take art classes, Spanish classes, attend summer camp, perform dance at various events, participate in classroom or school-wide presentations, make new friends and deal with friendship difficulty. It is in the working together that we get through it.

Sometimes the courage comes in having someone sit next to us or hold our hand, sometimes literally and sometimes metaphorically speaking. Thanks for joining with me on this journey. I can feel the warmth of your hand on the work.