My daughter, a Grade 10 student, is currently enrolled in a leadership course at school. In September, her teacher introduced a TED Talk titled “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” presented by psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth, who explores grit in various contexts, including education and the workplace. Inspired by the talk, my daughter invited me to watch it with her. It made me reflect on my own students and the challenges they encounter regarding motivation and perseverance when faced with obstacles. Like my fellow counsellors, I realize that guidance departments play a crucial role in helping students cultivate resilience and build grit.
Duckworth characterizes grit as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals; grit is having stamina; grit is sticking with your future day in, day out” (2013). She noted that grit had not been studied much at that time, but resilience had been. Why is grit important in high school? Having grit helps students persist through challenging academic subjects, social pressures and emotional difficulties.
High school students are faced with a multitude of challenges including academic, social-emotional and life transitions. Academically, students face pressure to excel in their studies, meet deadlines, and prepare for post-secondary. Socially, high school students are faced with the influence of social media, peer pressure, and mental health challenges. Finally, high school students experience challenges related to transitioning into adulthood, managing work, family obligations and extra-curricular activities. How can guidance counsellors help students develop grit and become more resilient to face these challenges? It really is the work we do every day with individual students that can help build grit and increase resiliency. Here are four strategies that counsellors can implement – strategies that I believe most already use – to foster grit.
- Personalized Support. Guidance counsellors offer one-on-one guidance to help students develop perseverance. These individual meetings allow students to be more vulnerable. By creating a space that is safe for students to express themselves, the counsellor can offer a personalized approach to the student’s challenges. Counsellors can assist struggling students to push through difficult subjects or personal issues. We do this every time a student comes to our office and is in tears over an upcoming math test, believing they will fail. We offer them a safe space to vent, cry, express their worries. We then provide them with practical strategies to assist in their study efforts, such as after school tutoring and creating a study calendar. Finally, we arm them with the confidence they need to give that test their best shot.
- Goal-setting and long-term vision. As guidance counsellors, we teach our students how to set achievable goals and break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps. How many times has a student been in your office, and they are confused and frustrated about their pathway goals? The student may have an idea of what they would like to pursue but are unsure, anxious and frustrated as to how to achieve it. Counsellors can backwards plan with that student demonstrating all the incremental steps required to achieve that long-term goal. By helping the student create a do-able plan, a checklist, and provide them with the tools, strategies to check those points off, one at a time, students will be able to keep motivated and not let the smaller setbacks interfere with their ultimate goal.
- Tools. In our guidance office, we use several tools and personal development exercises to encourage students to stay focused. One such tool, used in every school board in Ontario, is myBlueprint, an education platform that follows a comprehensive education and career planning process that meets the needs, interests, and aspirations of all students. Embedded in this platform are surveys students can take that explore their interests, learning styles, skills and passions. Through this approach, myBlueprint is used as a pathway planning tool, encompassing a high school planner where students can backwards plan courses they would like to take, post-secondary information guide, including apprenticeship, college, and university, a resume builder, and much more. With the help of the guidance counsellor, we use this tool with our students to help support our student’s learning, pathway planning, and success.
- Encouraging self-awareness and reflection. Guidance counsellors play a vital role in helping our students reflect on their progress. We are a safe and caring adult that can look at the student’s progress, help them understand any set back, give them strategies to overcome that set back.
Throughout her research on resiliency and grit, Angela Lee Duckworth outlined that it is NOT the most skilled and talented students that succeed. It’s the students who persevere and who keep trying amidst failed attempts that succeed. According to Duckworth, “grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when matched on every characteristic she could measure, like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school.” Resiliency and grit are valuable in the real world, where setbacks and challenges are inevitable. Whether navigating a demanding college course or overcoming obstacles in their professional lives, students with grit are more likely to stay committed to their goals and achieve success. The ability to persevere through difficulties is a skill that will serve students well throughout their lives.
As guidance counsellors, we play a crucial role in helping students build resilience and grit essential for success. By offering personalized support, assisting with goal setting, and encouraging self-awareness and reflection, we equip students with strategies to navigate their pathways. Our efforts empower students to persist through challenges, maintain motivation, and ultimately achieve their goals, fostering a growth mindset that is vital in today’s world.
By: Anna Marci
