Children's Perseverance in School Activities
For a number of reasons, children's perseverance in school activities can sometimes be lacking. Even the most able students can show a lack of perseverance when confronted with challenging or unfamiliar tasks. Perseverance can often mean the difference between success and failure in school. Children persevere at school activities in a number of ways, for a variety of reasons.
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Seeking Praise
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Children are eager to please, and they seek positive feedback at school and home about what they have accomplished. If they are made to feel proud of their work, many children will be eager to persevere in difficult tasks, such as story writing and learning a foreign language.
Learning from Their Mistakes
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Children who able to persevere have a positive approach toward their school activities. They have been taught that making mistakes is a normal part of life and that these mistakes can often be the best ways to learn. They feel valued when they receive support and encouragement and will persevere at activities such as solving math problems or improving their spelling even if they find the work difficult.
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Eagerness to Try New Things
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Children who show perseverance at school activities will be eager to try new things without fear of being judged wrong or compared with other pupils and found lacking in some way. They will be willing to give their best effort to each new activity they are assigned, even if they find it difficult. They understand that they do not have to be perfect all the time; they just have to try their best.
Awareness of Strengths and Weaknesses
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Even the most intelligent students are better at some school activities and worse at others. Children who show perseverance at tasks that pose challenges for them usually are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They are eager to overcome obstacles in their problem areas and improve their performance, which can be encouraged by support from their teacher and parents.
Thriving on Achievement and Appreciation
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Children will persevere in school activities when they feel their work is valued and appreciated. An ordered, disciplined and respectful classroom atmosphere in which every pupil's efforts and contributions are recognized, no matter how great or small, will foster student's ability to persevere.
Positive Role Models
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Children are exposed to a variety of media from a young age, and therefore encounter a wide range of role models. "The Little Engine that Could" or "The Tortoise and the Hare" are two examples of books that feature positive role models that children van admire and may wish to imitate. Older children may look at sports or pop stars who have overcome obstacles to accomplish their goals as positive role models to emulate. Children will also look to their own parents for examples of perseverance and the best ways to meet challenges and obstacles in daily life and in their school activities.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit the girl with books image by Aliaksandr Zabudzko from Fotolia.com
