"I'm dumb," Mya mumbled. She dropped her pencil on the floor, pushed her math paper across the desk, and slumped forward with her head on her arms. I had been to her desk twice already to get her back on track. To help her add the two-digit numbers, I had modeled how to keep one number whole and add the tens—a strategy I knew she understood—and had suggested that she get the tens and ones rods to help her build the numbers she was working with. She remained sullen and unresponsive. Then one of Mya's classmates quietly said, "Ms. Buckley, I think Mya's stuck on an escalator." My eyes brightened. "I think you're right. Let's check." We leaned down close to Mya's face and asked, "Are you stuck on an escalator right now?" She grinned, and I knew we were heading forward.
Being stuck on an escalator is a lesson I use to teach perseverance to my elementary students. As part of the lesson, we watch a video that shows two people silently riding an escalator. Suddenly, the escalator jerks forward and stops. After a moment one of them says, "I don't need this." The two adults stand still and grumble and complain. At one point, they shout, "There are two people stuck on an escalator and we need help!" The video fades out as the pair stands on the escalator, waiting for an intervention. Even young children can understand how easy it would be for them to walk away from their predicament. But in a state of helplessness, confusion and despair can sometimes cloud common sense.
If adults sometimes give up rather than try to overcome obstacles, you can imagine how quickly 5- and 6-year-olds despair over the challenges of school. But helplessness is not something I want them to learn in my classroom. Together, my students and I cultivate a culture of resourcefulness that teaches them how to deal with difficulty, not avoid it.
We created something we call Friendship Workshop, which consists of weekly 30-minute lessons to teach and reinforce social and emotional skills such as self-control and kindness. During our group discussions, we use photographs, videos, or read-alouds to illustrate each skill. We role-play situations and brainstorm options for more productive behaviors. As a school family, we take care of ourselves and each other in specific ways. Much like an anchor chart reminds students how to add and subtract two-digit numbers, our Friendship Workshop charts give them a shared vocabulary and reference points when faced with social or emotional challenges.
The escalator lesson was an ideal way to introduce Mya and her classmates to the skill of perseverance. After the students stopped shaking their heads in disbelief at the two adults, I opened the discussion by asking them to consider the real problem depicted in the video. The students noted how ridiculous it was for the people to stand on the escalator; it's a set of stairs, after all! Waiting for someone else to fix the problem was silly. Next, we connected the adults' frustration to times when we had felt helpless. Jane shared her frustration when the simple circuit she had made in science didn't illuminate her light bulb (and everyone else's did). Carlos admitted to feeling annoyed when he had to rewrite a story because it was too sloppy. Shawn thought it was unfair that he always had to be "it" during games of tag.
We decided that in our classroom community we would always take at least one step forward to help ourselves. We might try a new strategy in math, read a higher-level book, or ask for help after we have tried at least one problem-solving technique on our own. We then made a poster of an escalator to remind us that we are responsible for and capable of taking that first step.
Although our lesson on perseverance did not reverse Mya's behaviors, it did provide a window of hope. Mya began to trust that she would receive support and encouragement when she asked for it and that she had options whenever she felt "dumb." There are stories of perseverance in every classroom. They may seem small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, yet most teachers will agree that the accumulation of these small steps enables students to make big gains. It takes time, flexibility, and persistence—in short, it takes perseverance. As educators, we must instill these qualities in our students along with the unwavering belief that they are capable and resilient and will be successful.
