Transformational Resiliency
I define Transformational Resiliency as the following: The growth, development and strengthening of a child’s personal resiliency as a result of providing an engaging, positive, thoughtful, supportive, educational environment. This blog is intended to provide an avenue to share ideas, concepts, approaches, and thoughtful considerations to do just that. I believe that the ownership of the current state of affairs belongs to educational leaders, school and district governance teams, teachers, communities, and children themselves, who hold the power to become resilient if they are provided opportunities to do just that.
A few months ago I wrote an article that addressed four specific actionable strategies that school administrators could focus on to advance their schools focus on Transformational Resiliency. I provide them again here for your consideration.
1. Participate in purposeful and conscious actions essential supporting resiliency: This means that school leaders must make and take the time to discuss with their staff members the importance of making connections with students across their campuses. These connections are relevant, and important to support the preventative factors that a child needs to persevere through the adversity they may face during their developmental years.
2. Communicate by various means to reach, engage and support students: As simple as it may sound, taking time to communicate with children on a daily basis via conversation cannot be understated. When we take the time to speak to children and their families we quickly demonstrate that we care, we are thoughtful about them, and that we can see their future in our eyes, even if they might not be able to see it themselves. We demonstrate the importance of each person we come to know.
3. Develop and provide links for students to connect with other educators, school support members, community services and each other: The links to other healthy adults provides students with more data as to opportunities they have to become well-functioning adults. Whether these connections are person to person, or are person connected to the organization, via a parent night, movie night at school, reading club for students and parents, the more connections that are present and provide opportunities the better.
4. Welcome and honor every student interaction, every opportunity to connect with a student’s family, no matter who it may be: Recognize that every moment a child is attending school is an opportunity for Transformational Resiliency to occur, and for that child they have a unique home life, a unique home structure, and we must work to accept everyone who is part of that structure. By letting go of our preconceived notions, and or ideas, we can offer support, care, and yes, love to children and their families. When we do this we offer concrete impressions of our offer of dignity and support for the children we serve.
When students are engaged in rigorous academic environments, taught that having a positive mental outlook is an important part of becoming a well-functioning adult, and are supported in developing their resiliency skills, then we are indeed creating environments where Transformational Resiliency is coming to fruition.
More to come in the future, @ResiliencyGuy, Robert A. Martinez, Ed. D.
Lead With Resilience 
January 30, 2014 at 4:40 am
Reblogged this on Transformational Resiliency and commented:
Each day that we are here offers opportunities to create environments for our children that support and encourage them. Let’s allow the lives we help them live be the measurement of our success.