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Subscribe at www.nelrc.org/changeagent The Change Agent — September 2012 1

Tales of Resilience — Issue #35 — Extras

My Mom Always Stands by MeMiguel MoralesThe person in my life who I know I can count on is Luz Morales. I met her 27 years ago. The date was March 7, 1985, my birthday. This person is my mom, my best friend, my life. When I was growing up, she always pushed me to do the right thing, to set goals in my life, and to follow my dreams.

Giving Her a Lot of TroubleAt times things didn’t go the way I planned. I had a rough life growing up. I never knew who my father was. He left my mom when she was preg-nant with me. My mom was a single parent, but she had help from her mom, her sisters, and her friends. As I got older, I started to give my mom a hard time. I was driving her nuts. I was doing what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I was fighting with her, yelling, and saying mean things. I was an out of control 14-year-old boy who thought that the whole world revolved around him.

Discovering a DreamDespite all the trouble I gave my mom, I knew she always had my back. We were living in a small town in Massachusetts called South Hadley. We moved there from a big city because she didn’t want me to be around the violence in “the hood.” Small town life was hard for me to adapt to, but

one positive result was I discovered sports. When my mom saw me playing, she said I was good. I told her I wanted to play professional sports so I could take care of my family. I wanted to be able to buy things for my mom and my younger broth-ers, and I wanted to put money away for me and my brothers to go to college.

My mom told me my dream wouldn’t come true if I didn’t chase it, so she signed me up for football. I started playing for the town. In my first year I was okay, but by my second year I was the best one on the team. My mom helped me practice whenever she could. I was getting ready to start high school. I was afraid because I would be the smallest on the high school team. The other play-ers were all bigger, faster, and better than me. But my mom said the only thing to fear is fear itself. My mom told me, “Miguel, remember what I told you: `Never quit. Show no fear.’” I decided to follow my dream to become a professional sports player.

Letting Everyone DownThen one day I had a setback that was going to prevent me from going to college and play-

Miguel Morales and his mom.

2 Subscribe at www.nelrc.org/changeagent The Change Agent — September 2012


ing sports. My school informed me that I would not graduate due to my grades being low in two subjects. It was my fault that I was too focused on sports and letting my schoolwork get behind. There were only four months left until the end of the school year. I panicked and dropped out of school. I felt like I could never make my dream come true. I let myself, my mom, and my whole family down.

I was confused, so I turned to my friends, and the solution they had for me was alcohol. It helps you forget your problems. I started to drink and party. I found out that my high school sweetheart was pregnant. I was about to be a father, and I had no job, no education, nothing. I felt like the biggest loser. I had been an athlete who was respected by people in the community, and now I had thrown that away.

When I gave up on myself, my mom didn’t give up. She kept on believing in me even as my drinking got worse and I got in trouble with the law. I was in my early twenties when something hit me one day like a freight train. I was at the park by my house, and some people who play-ing a pick-up game of football asked me to play. I stepped onto the field, and it was like I was at home again. It never left me.

Trying to Make a ChangeFeeling this connection to my former self helped me make the choice to go back to school. My

mom’s encouragement also helped a lot. Hear-ing her say that she was proud of me was a huge motivation. She was back in school herself getting her GED, so I said, “If she can do it, so can I.” I was back on the hunt to make my dream come true. Everything seemed to be going well until I failed the math section of the GED. I was hurt and dropped out. I gave up again. I told myself my dream would never come true. I lost friends, and worst of all, my high school sweetheart left me. It broke my heart.

And then Trying Again!The years went on. I had a few more girlfriends and a few more kids. I was trying to repair my life, but I couldn’t get rid of past memories. Hold-ing onto them was like a bad dream. Now I am 27 years old and I have had the biggest wake up call of my life. I am incarcerated at the Hampshire House of Corrections in Northampton, Massachu-setts, serving a four-year sentence. Since my time in jail, my mom has been up to every visit and she brings my daughters to all the parenting programs here for inmates and their kids. She has been hold-ing me down and sending me mail and cards. And she has been talking to me and praying for me. In the years that I have been here, I have grown up and I have accomplished a few things. I have my ServSafe certification. I am a group leader and I am on the road to getting my GED.

Over the years, there has been one great friend that I could count on. This person has been there for 27 years and has never let me down. That per-son is my mother, Luz Morales. With her, I have overcome my trials and tribulations. I am alive and sober. I can say my dreams have come true. I just never realized it until now. That dream is I am a father, a son, and a great brother, and there is nothing more I could ask for in my life.

Miguel Morales is currently serving time at the Hampshire House of Corrections in Northampton, MA. He lives in South Hadley with his family and has accomplished a lot of things. He loves school, and his teacher Amy is great. She always works him hard. He is grateful to have another chance at life and at school. His plans for the feature are to go to college, get a degree in law, and be the best father he can be.Miguel’s children



Egotistical and InflexibleWhen I was incarcerated at the age of 19, I was sentenced to prison for seven and a half years. I was a young, wild, and very negative kid. I used to fight random people just for the sport of it and because of all of the bad things I had heard about prison. People told me that homosexuals will try and take your “manhood,” gangs will try and recruit you, and if you’re not in a gang, then it’s “every man for himself.” I fought so other people would see what I could do for my age. I would also start a lot of trouble and get other people in trouble or hurt them for stupid reasons.

When I was in prison, most of the people I had around me were just like me. We were young, ego-tistical, street-minded, inflexible, and didn’t care about ourselves or what we were doing to other people. That was my mind-set for about five and a half years.

When I first got to Shirley Prison, the older cons tried to tell me to watch out for the correc-tional officers because the COs at Shirley didn’t play around. They just kicked your ass and wouldn’t ask you any questions. However, I was hardheaded, and I just had to find out myself. I told a CO to kiss my ass and go to hell right in

front of the whole chow hall at eating time. The CO told me to get up out of my seat and put my hands behind me. I replied that he was going to have to make me do it. The CO went to grab me, and we began

Positive People Mature after Their Bad Choices Isaac D. Howard

to fight. Of course, I did not win that fight. After that fight, most people wouldn’t even try to talk to me about anything positive. They didn’t like to be around me because I was such a knucklehead. They probably assumed that I wouldn’t listen to them, so why waste their time.

Older Cons Kept Believing in MeThere were some older cons, though, who kept trying to get through my thick head, so I would learn from my mistakes and turn my life around before it was too late. At first I talked back to them a lot, but as time went on, the older cons started to make me realize that I was a good person and I was just looking for attention from the wrong people in the wrong places.

They explained to me that the CRA (Correc-tional Recovery Academy) program would change the way I was thinking, would humble me, and change my bad thoughts (which you could sum



up as: “I don’t gave a f**k about anything”). The CRA was good for me. The older cons got me into anger management and stopped me from hang-ing around other knuckleheads. I began to hang around good, older cons who had their heads on their shoulders.

Gaining Respect and TrustIt started to feel like we were all one big family. So, they became to me like the uncles, big broth-ers, and older cousins I never had. I wouldn’t ever dare to be disrespectful to any of my family mem-bers outside of these gates, and once I treat any person like they’re my family, I respect their ad-vice and their opinion, too. Plus, I began to slowly gain that respect and trust from the other cons when they saw for themselves that I was begin-ning to become a better person.

I was a lot more open-minded, and I wanted to begin my journey of changing my life. The respect and trust also came from the COs. They began try-ing to help me get a job and get into school. Once, I started to work and go to school, I was a different person. I liked the way people were treating me. I had earned respect.

I started to read the Bible with the older cons, go to Rastafarian and parenthood groups, and read a few things from the Muslims about Minis-ter Louis Farrakhan. I learned not to react to the thoughts that would pop into my mind when I got angry at a person for something stupid. I wasn’t fighting as much as I was in the beginning of my sentence, nor was I getting into any trouble with the COs. I began working out with the older cons physically and, most importantly, intellectually. I became teachable and worthy of receiving positive literature.

Once I was open-minded to their teachings, I became open to a new way of behaving, a new way of thinking, a new way of controlling my emotions, a new way of approaching people and situations, and also, a new way of learning how to be a gentleman (respectful to other people). I began to stay out of trouble while I was locked up, and I was able to avoid bad situations.

The Journey ContinuesNow that I am about to be released, I have more skills than I ever had before because of the good people I met while I was here. The practical things I have to do are important, but what really matters to me is building a new life, my education, and proving to family and friends that they can trust me. I will slowly work my way back into society, and at the halfway house I move into, I will also be in school working on accomplishing my GED. Education is more important now than it ever has been to me before.

Isaac D. Howard lives in and is enrolled in an adult education program in Northampton. Isaac loves to learn new things and meet new people. Isaac also loves to tell his story.



1995: I Had Taken Life for GrantedMy first big earthquake was on January 17, 1995. I felt so scared. I thought the apartment might be destroyed. Fortunately, our apartment endured.

Just after the earthquake, my family wanted to call relatives to let them know that we were in safe, but electric and phone services for the build-ing were down. The only working phone was a telephone booth. There was already a long line. Everyone used the phone to make just one phone call. It seemed there was an implicit rule that no one should use the phone for more than one call. When I saw that, I felt pride in living in this well-ordered community.

Through Two Big EarthquakesA Witness Writes about how These Natural Disasters Brought the Japanese People TogetherMaki Aida

After the earthquake, our water and gas sup-plies stopped for about six weeks. Until these sup-plies resumed, we had to bring water by hand every day and went to another town to take baths. I had taken my convenient life for granted until I lost it.

During this time, I was preparing for the high school entrance examina-tion. It was hard to find time to study. It made me

nervous. My friends and teachers who didn’t experience damage from the earthquake helped me. One friend brought a heavy water tank on her back to my home by using public transportation. Others took turns providing me with a lunch box every day. This kindness helped me not only physically, but mentally. When I felt so tired that I felt like giving up, their kindness encouraged me. I studied as hard as I could in order to repay these kindnesses.

2011: Many Acts of KindnessI experienced the second big earthquake on March 11, 2011. I was at work in an office in Tokyo.

In the space below, write a caption for this photograph. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, write a story about what these two people do afterwards.

Maki Aida witnessed two major earthquakes in Japan.



Tokyo is a densely populated area, so most of the people go to their offices by public transportation. But the earthquake stopped all the subways. Many people had to walk a long way to get home.

Usually, Japanese people don’t talk with strangers. If there are a lot of people in a small place, it will be quiet with little conversation. If you saw this, you might think Japanese people are unfriendly. But after the earthquake, many strang-ers cooperated in sharing information with others. Some people put lights out on the road in front of their houses so that those who were walking home could see where they were going. They offered hot drinks and rice balls, and they opened their rest-rooms throughout the night. Those acts were very helpful for the people who walked home. I was so

Write a caption for this photograph and/or tell a story about what is happening and what might happen next:

impressed by their thoughtful behavior and felt proud of the people living in Japan.

Becoming A Stronger, Kinder NationBoth earthquakes were horrible experiences, but I realized many great things that Japanese people have. We have well-ordered communities, kind spirits, and cooperative minds. A bad situation can have a positive force. These earthquakes were heart-breaking events, but it is possible for a coun-try to overcome disasters and be a stronger and kinder nation.

Maki Aida works for a cosmetic company in Japan. She learned English in Gabrielle Wallace’s class at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center.



If you had one word to describe Somali women, that word would be “resilience.” In 1991, war came to Somalia. Along with the war, there was uncertainty and utter catastrophe. Some women were raped and others witnessed killings of their loved ones. Husbands and sons began to die or disappear. Life suddenly became cheap. Women were left to lead their families out of danger and in some case to emigrate. They have sustained their families through unimaginable loss. After twenty years of war, Somali women are still standing tall and strong, and their spirits remain unbroken.

As men perished in the war, Somali women began to bury their dead husbands, sons, and brothers. With no husbands or sons around, they rolled up their sleeves and grabbed the hands of the children and walked out of the war zone and into the capital city of Mogadishu. They walked anywhere they could find “peace.” One of these

Women are the Backbone of the Somali CommunityThey are Powerfully Resilient through War and DisplacementM. J. Farah

mothers was my mother Halimo who struggled to get us out of the war zone. My father died before the war. So, my mother did not have a husband to support her when the war arrived. Like other Somali women, she got us out of the war zone and worked as a merchant in order to support seven children.

Somali mothers and their children began to amass in the refugee camps in the neighboring countries, Kenya and Ethiopia. When they arrived in the foreign countries, they had no money or jobs, but they carried hope. Despite the agony of the war, they never lost their purpose to carry on. Once again, they began to create situations where they could raise their children. They established small businesses and created employment in the refugee camps. In doing so, Somali women be-came the basis on which Somali society continues to thrive and exist. They take care of the household

Somali women at a feeding center at a camp in Mogadishu. Photo from Oxfam.

A Somali woman and her child rest while on their way to a refugee camp in Kenya. Photo from World Concern.



chores, they work, they raise children, they keep the family together, and they regularly send mon-ey to the extended families back home in Somalia.

Despite Somali women being extremely busy, they are emerging as the educated majority within the Somali community. In the face of utter danger and uncertainty, they emerged as resilient and an indispensible segment of Somali society. As they arrived in foreign countries, they faced monu-mental challenges such as adapting to the culture, customs, and language. But they knew that hard work would be the path to successful integration into their new countries and communties.

In the last twenty years, Somalis began to arrive in the United States. Using what they had learned from surviving the war in Somalia and the agony of the refugee camps, they once again employed their survival skills to put their children to school and start small businesses.

Strangely, they are not visible in the world of Somali politics. Since they are undoubtedly the educated majority, they should be empowered to take the lead, as Somalis need their intellectual assets. There is an African proverb that says, “An elephant never fails to carry its tusk.” The Somali women have never failed to carry their duty as they shoulder immeasurable burden.

Saido Farah and Deeqo Jibril posing in Farah’s business Roots Halal Meat Market. Photo Credit: Talia Whyte

Somali women take computer classes. Photo from Somali Family Services.

Looking back and remembering my mother’s struggles throughout the years, it is clear to me that I owe my life to my mother—both because she gave birth to me and because she sustained our family through seemingly impossible circum-stances. I know many others share this same feeling.

Mohamed J. Farah, M.Ed., is an academic advisor, motivational speaker, and a writer who believes that the beauty of life lays in its complexity.

What are the ways that women are the backbone of the Somali community?

Describe examples of cultural and com-munity resilience from your experience.

Hear directly from a Somali woman, Deeqo Jibril (photo below). Her essay, “First You Have to Believe in Yourself” (pp. 5-7) was published in the March 2008 issue of The Change Agent <www.nelrc.org/changeagent>.

Take it Further



Acting It Out“The bus is coming! It’s coming, I see it. It’s going to stop – Nooooooo! Out of service!” The group of ESOL students shouted and were angry. We were doing Playback Theatre, a kind of theatre where people can tell their stories. We were acting out different situations that cause us stress. For ex-ample, family problems, bosses who yell and are demanding, and simple things like unreliable pub-lic transportation.

There are a LOT of things that cause stress in the United States. It is always on top of us, and can feel very difficult to control. In my classes over the past two years we have been experimenting with how to manage the stress.

The most important question about stress is “What CAN I change? What CAN’T I change?” Obviously, there are many things we can’t change. It is important that we laugh, relax, stretch, and try to meditate so we can better handle the things we can’t change. That will help us to be relaxed. But what about the things we CAN change? We wanted to look at those things together.

Is the Bus Coming?Our English classes are at the Mystic Housing Development in Somerville, Massachusetts. There are a lot of trains and buses in the city, but only one that comes to the housing development: Bus 95. When we did Playback Theatre, students said it was stressful that the bus didn’t even come on

time. When conversa-tion groups talked about difficulties stay-ing in class, they said transportation was a problem. When we talked about health problems in our com-munity, students

We Are ChangeLisa Gimbel

said the bus was a major problem because they couldn’t get to a store to buy healthy food, or to go to parks for outdoor activities and exercise, or to the doctor very easily.

Talking to the MayorClearly, transportation is a very real problem. We decided it was something we CAN change. We went to talk to the Mayor of our city. One student said, “My name is Vien Pham. I come from Viet-nam. I came in 1981, a long time ago. My country had war and I escaped. Now I am a senior. We need the Mayor to help seniors feel better. We need exercise, but we don’t have transportation to go to the YMCA.”

Another student told the Mayor we need a bus that goes to the hospitals and to the supermarket. Jaelle, from Haiti, talked about trying to get to the supermarket: “You need to take three buses to get there. We need affordable food!” The Mayor

One way to manage stress is to identify

what you can and cannot change. And

then take action!

Lisa Gimbel from the Welcome Project in Somerville, MA participated in the Managing Stress to Improve Learning <http://nelrc.org/managingstress/>.



said he agreed, and that he would support us in getting more transportation. (See <www.nelrc.org/changeagent/extras> for a downloadable and adaptable worksheet you could use to help students explore what a mayor can and can’t do.)

Organizing to Save Our Only Bus!One week later, we found out that the bus com-pany, the MBTA, planned to take away the 95 bus completely. There was a budget crisis, and they were going to cut over 100 buses in Boston. We said, “No!”

We had a community meeting at the Mystic Housing Development, where 100 people shared our anger and made plans. ESOL students inter-viewed people at the meeting and made up chants. We decided to go to the big meeting of the MBTA in Somerville, and we planned to make signs with our messages. At our meeting we had interpreta-tion in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. We called the MBTA to make sure they would have interpretation for us.

When we went to the big meeting of the MBTA, there were about 400 people. Many people spoke that night, and the MBTA heard our mes-sage over and over again. Do NOT cut the 95 bus. The Mystic Housing needs better transportation. We are poor, but public transportation is our right too. Our buses are our lifeline. Our ESOL students and friends they brought were the only people who needed interpretation. It is difficult for im-migrants to get involved in issues impacting their communities through meetings, but we worked together to make sure we could have a voice.

VictoryOne month later, we learned the MBTA was not going to cut the 95 bus! Thousands of people in the Boston area had gone to meetings to tell the MBTA what will happen to our lives if they cut the bus-ses. Our ESOL students were an important part of that. We have not completely won yet. The MBTA wants to raise the price of riding the bus and cut some other services.

Here are some of things we have learned:

• One way to manage stress is to identify what you can and cannot change. And then take ac-tion! Some changes can happen individually. Others need to happen with a lot of people working together.

• You have to keep trying, and trying different approaches. Even then, you might not win everything you want. The Mayor said he was going to help us improve the bus service, but two months later we were fighting to maintain it, never mind making it better.

• It’s important to give ESOL students language choices at community meetings. Simultane-ous interpretation into their native languages is one good choice. But some people want to practice their English! We experimented with interpreting from the very fast English na-tive speakers use, to slower simpler English that ESOL students can understand using the simultaneous interpretation equipment. Stu-dents liked it a lot.

• It is powerful for students to meet key decision makers, even if we aren’t able to get all of what we want. Meeting the Mayor had a strong im-pact on students.

Lisa Gimbel is an ESOL teacher at the Welcome Project in Somerville, Massachusetts.

ESOL students interviewed people about the service cuts at the beginning of a community meeting about the cuts <www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipcgWv2Vin4>.

“Is the Bus coming?” Children and youth in a neighborhood youth program made a video about the MBTA bus cuts <www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjqIX3GkN-k>.

Short article about the video: <www.somervillescout.com/2012/03/kids-ask-is-the-bus-coming/>.

Additional Material



Alice Nelson, a teacher at the Haitian Multi-Service Center in Dorchester, MA, wanted to recognize that her Haitian students might be having a difficult time emo-tionally as the one-year anniversary of the 2010 devas-tating earthquake in Haiti approached. She reflected on this experience below, recognizing—and respecting—that the students had their own way of handling their emotions around this event and other difficult events that were happening in Haiti as well. As a teacher, she realized she could support her students’ resiliency-building efforts by following their leads about what they needed most.

Approaching the First AnniversaryThis month has been full of ups and downs for us and our students. We approached the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti on January 12th. Students expressed mixed feelings about ac-knowledging that day. An overwhelming majority of students and the student council did not want to have any recognition of the day at school. This surprised me in some ways, however as I worked with the students in the days before the anniver-sary it was apparent that the pain was very deep and personal. They did not want to dig up those feelings. They expressed comments like:

Talk about it for what? Why?We move on, keep going.I remember in myself.

Instead of discussing the event, we decided to have a short three to five minute time of silence in each class. We let the students know about this ahead of time and suggested if they had a poem or song or words to share they could come with that. Many students said they were going to church to pray on that day. As it turns out it was a snow

Strategies for Supporting StudentsHaitian Students on the Anniversary of the EarthquakeAlice Nelson

day, and school was cancelled. In a way it seems to me this was a good thing; they had time with their families at home and in church. When they returned the next day, they did not want to talk about what they did, and we spent a lot of time talking about the snow, developing vocabulary about navigating in the snow, snow accidents, shoveling, and sled riding. We wrote a class story about the snow and managing in the snow. They were very positive about this practical activity.

Getting News UpdatesIn addition to the anniversary of the earthquake, political situations in Haiti continued to be very fluid this month, and students would come to class talking about the changing events they were hearing about at home. The biggest news was Jean Claude Duvalier—”Baby Doc”— returning to Hai-ti when rumors were flying about Aristide return-ing also. This brought a real buzz to the classroom



every morning. I found that there was so much talk in class about what people had heard that we really could not get started with the prepared Eng-lish lesson.

Every morning we would spend fifteen to thirty minutes updating the situation in Haiti. These classroom discussions included sharing information they had heard, getting news updates on the Internet and reading them together, talking about Haitian history, sharing students’ personal experiences with politics, reviewing former Ameri-can interventions in Haiti, and voicing students’ anxieties about what was good and bad for Haiti. These discussions were fluid. I focused on letting the students talk and pressing for English mean-ing. I began recording the words and phrases that would be helpful for them to describe what was happening. It helped focus them when I said: “What English do you need to know to tell some-one here in America about this?”

Words of the HeartWe began to develop a list of words every morn-ing that they could use to tell about the situation. Words and phrases included: “manifestation, demonstration, unrest, political crisis, suspicious, political corruption, teenagers don’t remember the past, selfish, who takes care of the people, op-portunity, hidden motives, and beautiful country. After this exercise the students were “talked out,” and we could easily move into the lesson.

I really did not see this as dealing with stress when we did it. I saw it more as responding to the needs of the students at this unique time in their lives. It seemed to help when I just listened to them and asked meaningful questions about their experience. Then listened honestly. Then I could define my role in their lives as the one who can help them get English to tell others about this experience. They seemed to appreciate this a great deal. I could not change the problems, talk them away, or even really begin to understand them deeply. But I could listen, identify the words of the heart, and give them sentences to express their heart.

Alice Nelson, a teacher at the Haitian Multi-Service Center in Dorchester, MA, participated in the Man-aging Stress to Improve Learning <http://nelrc.org/managingstress/>.



Brainstorm: 5 mins.How do you prepare yourself for writing?What do you think about?What steps do you take? What topics are the easiest for you to write about?

Introduction to The Change Agent and Concept of Resilience: 15 mins.1. The Change Agent offers an opportunity for

students to share their stories with other adult learners around the country. (Have past issues of The Change Agent and Issue #35 on resilience available. Give students time to page through.)

2. Discuss concept of resilience. What do you think the word means? Share actual definition.

3. Beach ball activity:

• Three groups, each with a ball, bounce the ball to each other and/or use as volley-ball—notice the bounciness.

• Think of yourself as the ball. • STOP—a crisis hits—let out a little air;

bounce and volley. How is it different? • What happens to your bounce when you

encounter a crisis?• STOP—another crisis hits; let more air out;

try to bounce and volley. Discuss the dif-ference.

• What fills your spirit and helps you get your “bounce” back?

• Partially re-inflate the ball; continue bouncing and volleying.

• What else helps you bounce back from cri-sis?

• Fully inflate; continue bouncing and vol-leying.

Writing with ResilienceA Lesson Plan: 1 hr 15 minsPatricia Hembrough

Resilience Chart: 15 mins.1. Fold paper; put name across the top; What

deflates me in left column; list crisis/con-cerns

2. What keeps me bouncing in right column; list strengths/resilience factors

3. Share with small group

4. Find commonalities

5. Share with large group

Make Connection: 5 mins.1. Often, it is easiest to write about something

personal—something you know and have experienced in your life. You have all just shared personal stories of your innate ability to bounce back from crisis. This is RESIL-IENCY. You are all resilient people and you have a story to share.

2. Use your resiliency chart as an outline to write a first draft of your story of resilience.

3. How do you bounce back from crisis?

4. What makes you resilient?

5. Where do you see resilience in our commu-nity; our world?

Choices: 30 mins.1. Write a story, create a poem, or draw a pic-

ture.

Reflection: 5 mins.1. What went well?

2. What could have been better?



My Experience Using this Lesson PlanStudents didn’t have a clue what resilience meant when we first started this activity, but in the end they were all able to define it in their own words and share examples from their own lives. It is clear that helping students identify and nurture their resiliency in order to increase their self-efficacy is key to their success. Using The Change Agent issue on resilience and encouraging our students to tell their resiliency stories was a great way to give them a way to see themselves from a strengths-based perspective. (See the article by Nan Henderson, “Hard Wired to Bounce Back,” in Issue #35 of The Change Agent.)

What went well for us:• Great energy in the room

• Majority of students fully engaged

• Ball activity was effective in helping students understand the concept of resilience and iden-tify it in themselves

• Doing the ball activity in three smaller groups instead of one large group

• Completing the resiliency chart as a follow-up to the ball activity was an important step

• Having students share their charts and find

common resiliency factors helped them under-stand resilience and led to discussions about being a resilient learning community

What could have been better:• Would have been good to ask “veteran” stu-

dents to share their experiences writing for past issues of The Change Agent

• The bouncing and volleying of the balls got a little out of hand (fooling around)

• Students picked right up on the ball activity, so I could have cut that short which perhaps would have prevented the “playfulness” to-wards the end of the activity

• Despite the brainstorming, the ball, the chart and the discussions there were still students who struggled with how to begin and what to write/draw.

• Consider having the chart already printed as a handout instead of having the students make it themselves. A few students were confused as to how to set up the paper even though I did it on the board with them.

Patricia Hembrough is the director of educational services at Project Hope in Roxbury, MA.

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