If you want to be a “bum” in life, be a good one.
That’s what my dad told me before I nervously left home to discover the world.
I had no desire to be a bum, although my kids call me that sometimes.
Like many youth today, I too found self-esteem to be very elusive. And if you want a lesson in frustration, try teaching a timid child self confidence. That’s why I don’t have much hair.
A recent meeting of school board officials in Oliver brought back a lot of memories. Talk focused around the value of failure and teaching children resiliency.
There is nothing wrong with failure. Bring it on! That’s because I learn far more from my mistakes than from my successes.
Don’t tell anyone, but I failed the first grade. Who fails Grade 1? I must have messed up big time counting to five, or crying every time the teacher looked at me.
Failure is a part of life. It gives you the experience to handle the tough challenges ahead.
It was common practice years ago to make students repeat a grade if they did poorly in class. Repeating grades seemed to be the answer as struggling students needed more time to grasp what they were learning. It certainly didn’t hurt them, other than the initial embarrassment.
But someone in his wisdom decided that failing students was counter-productive, so school districts began passing them regardless of their marks or academic ability.
Unfortunately, they are not doing these students any favours, other than saving their pride. But sadly, too many students gauge their existence on what people think of them.
Society, which is dictated by television and social media, has made our youth so vain and fragile that some of them break into little pieces when challenged.
But we applaud our educators for trying to fortify our youth with resilience and self-esteem, but more needs to be done to prepare them for the “real world.”
They need to learn that everybody fails, even the leaders and millionaires of this country. Their idols on television have failed miserably, but have dusted themselves off and continued their glamorous success stories.
You don’t become a “superstar” without failure along the way.
Many parents tend to be overprotective of their children, with the mindset that failure will only hurt them. Pssst . . . don’t worry about it.
Resilience and self-esteem are keys to a young person’s success. Teach them that, and you’ve done them a great service.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
