Perseverance means having self-discipline to continue a task, for example, despite the fact that it implies facing certain difficulties. Perseverance is one of the most important skills that students can work on , as it will allow them to continue with their responsibilities and their challenges to achieve progressive and effective goals for the future. In other words, perseverance is a necessary ingredient for children’s development as learners, and therefore should be encouraged. Helping children learn to be patient and persist, despite failures, can be done with a number of guidelines.
Ways to promote perseverance in students
- Believe in each child’s capacity for achievement.
- Motivate students to try new things and different methods .
- Avoid accepting excuses regarding unfinished tasks and work.
- Teach children to collect themselves and start over.
- Always wait for what they start to finish.
- Make positive comments when a child goes the extra mile.
- Encourage children to take responsibility for themselves and to make thoughtful and constructive decisions .
- Help students realize that we all make mistakes, but that the important thing is to keep trying.
Activities to encourage perseverance in the classroom
- Spend a day discussing what perseverance means and what doesn’t. Once defined, ask students to list activities in which perseverance is very important, such as learning to ride a bicycle or learning to multiply , and create a list.
- Have each student write an essay about a fictional person or character that demonstrates the value of perseverance very well for him.
- Create exercises in which students must answer questions related to this important skill and the previous activity, such as: In what way are you like the person in your writing? Are you different from that person? What have you learned about perseverance from writing?
- Look for stories with values in which perseverance is shown and create complementary activities. Fables for children can be a very good resource for this.
- Have the children break into groups to write a simple poem, song, or short story that exemplifies perseverance.
- Have students look up newspaper or magazine articles on perseverance. Once found, they can stick them on a large card and note below what they used to select the text in question.
- Ask students to write or draw something that illustrates a time when they were persistent and successful , even though at some point they wanted to quit. Once the drawings are displayed, you can create a discussion environment in which you talk about the feelings that are associated with achievements when you have perseverance, such as pride, happiness, confidence or self-esteem.
- Talk to students about how negative comments from others can influence personal attitude and learning. Please ask below what we can do to prevent such comments from hampering our efforts.
- Ask people who stand out for their perseverance (such as an athlete), to speak one day in class to the students. It is important that this person is able to express the way in which they have overcome the obstacles in their life or the paths that led them to success .
- Ask students to make a list of things that are difficult for them and easy. Then you can create an atmosphere of discussion in which the strengths and weaknesses that people have are reflected, and how the truly important thing is to continue and recover.
- Brainstorm and list the obstacles, habits, and attitudes that prevent people from achieving their goals . Then have the children write or draw what they want to be or do when they grow up.
- Have students create a list of questions that they would like to ask an older person in their family, such as: What was the most important thing you learned from your mother or father? What values are most important in your life? , Any mistake you have made? What did you learn from these mistakes? What are you most proud of? Then they should write down their entire interview and what they have learned from it.
