Following on from the workshops we did about being resourceful with year 7 in Hitchin Boys’ School earlier in the year, this term we...

Following on from the workshops we did about being resourceful with year 7 in Hitchin Boys’ School earlier in the year, this term we were looking at being resilient. We started the workshop with a challenge; the students were given a page of puzzles, sudoku, word searches etc. They were given 10 minutes to complete the whole sheet and were told there would be a countdown on the screen at the front. Little did they know that as well as the count down adding some pressure there were also distracting noises happening during the 10 minutes such as a baby crying and different sirens going off.

This was all to give us a way to talk about resilience and how we deal with and recover from distractions. We then moved on to think about different behaviours that can be helpful in us becoming more resilient. The class were split into groups. Each group had to present to the class why their helpful behaviour was so important and how we can go about doing it.

Resilience is such a key life skill to learn not just for school but as we journey through life. It has come up a few times already in discussions with boys that I mentor and them being encouraged to deal with some of the challenges that they are facing in a more positive way. One boy commented that ‘it was a really good workshop and helped me to have a better outlook on how I dealt with difficulties.’

Mr Terry, year 7 teacher, who was in the sessions with us gave this glowing report:

“Yet again a superb workshop led by Paul Harris.  The boys engaged with the content through paired work and whole class discussion. This built nicely on the other workshops conducted earlier this academic year.  Thank you Paul for your continued efforts at HBS, I know the boys enjoy your input. I for one look forward to future workshops with yourself. ”