Disappointment by Design

Developing capacity and resilience in young adolescents in a "pro-risk" school environment

Scott Anderson

Director of Students (Middle School)

Nazareth College, Noble Park North, Victoria

Taking Responsible Risks

Risk Taking in Context – Our Teens

Risk Taking in Context – Our Teens

Want their developing young adulthood to be acknowledged

Lack judgement regarding physical risks, yet socially risk-averse

Constantly test the boundaries of their changing world

Want less boundaries but actually need more than ever

Lack meaningful opportunities to develop capacity through responsible risk taking

Lack resilience

Risk Taking in Context – Our Parents

More aware of risks and perceived risks

More protective

React to the emotions of their children but often lack the time to invest in addressing them

Fear being disliked by their children

More willing to “go to bat” for their children

Prone to “rescuing”

Risk Taking in Context – Our Schools

Increasingly responsible for managing, reducing and eliminating risk

Have parent bodies that do not hesitate to challenge

Under ever-increasing pressures to “do more”

Under ever-increasing external pressures to perform

In many communities, we are failing miserably doing much more than keeping our children vacuum-safe. They are not getting the experiences they need to grow up well. An entire generation of children from middle class homes, in downtown row houses, apartment blocks, and copycat suburbs, whose good fortune it is to have sidewalks and neighbourhoodwatch programs, crossing guards, and playground monitors, are not being provided with the opportunities they need to learn how to navigate their way through life’s challenges. We don’t intend any harm. Quite the contrary. In our mania to provide emotional life jackets around our kids, helmets and seatbelts, approved playground equipment, after-school supervision, an endless stream of evening programming, and no place to hang out but the tiled flooring of our local mall, we parents are accidentally creating a generation of youth who are not ready for life. Our children are too safe for their own good.—From Too Safe for Their Own Good

Disappointment by Design

What do Responsible Risk-Taking Parents Do?

Provide capacity building experiences for their children

Let kids “have a go” even when it takes more time or the end result isn’t as good

Provide meaningful rights of passage with appropriate amounts of risk (Ungar) – “right level of danger”

Admit their mistakes

Support and guide without “rescuing”

Respond to challenges and disappointments in ways that build resilience

What do Responsible Risk-Taking Teachers Do?

Share something of who they are – risk being ‘real’.

Rely on relationship to teach and manage – not power.

Create safe classroom environments to enable student risk-taking.

Encourage trial and error

Celebrate successes

Relinquish control.

Avoid ‘rescuing’.

What do Responsible Risk-Taking Teachers Do?

Differentiate the curriculum to attempt to direct each student to the right level of challenge.

Communicate with parents about appropriate levels of challenge for students

Admit what they don’t know.

Model risk-taking by trying new things themselves

Prioritise processes over ‘correctness’ – use a range of assessment strategies

What do Responsible Risk-Taking Schools Do?

Provide parents with resources and support

Avoiding owning issues that are actually parenting issues – e.g. online behaviour outside of school

Ask students to live beyond themselves – engage in service and the community

Provide new experiences and challenges for students with the right level of ris

What do Responsible Risk-Taking Schools Do?

Know their core values and practices, and don’t apologise for them.

Address external pressures without sacrificing core values.

Be clear to parents on what they do and don’t promise.

Develop a healthy attitude to conflict and disagreement

Celebrate success

Disappointment by Design

Developing capacity and resilience in young adolescents in a "pro-risk" school environment

Scott Anderson

Director of Students (Middle School)

Nazareth College, Noble Park North, Victoria