While it is still 2024, we are already thinking ahead and planning for 2025 at Carey. Our students have put in their subject preferences and now the processes are in motion to carefully plan for their 2025 learning opportunities. They are growing and moving through the School, and with that comes new opportunities.
In this role, I often see two opportunities for constructive struggle presented to our young people at such transition points: starting new classes where they may not have any close friends, and being put in a situation where they are being challenged academically.
Being in a class without any close friends poses a challenge for many of our students, but also provides a chance for powerful growth. Everyone starts off a stranger, and the friends they make in their younger years often don’t serve them in their later ones. A school that is as large as ours offers so many opportunities for students to find their people; by jumping in to adjust classes at the first sign of discomfort, we remove this important opportunity to make meaningful connections with new people.
Our Middle School model is built on breadth, and with that comes its academic challenges. All students are purposefully exposed to something outside of their learning comfort zone. With that, things will not always go their way; students may not get that result they wanted and that is okay. In fact, it is better for them in the long run if this is more often the case as it will give them opportunities for to develop academic resilience and adaptability.
In making the case for helping our students to embrace constructive struggles, I’m not arguing that students should be left to fend for themselves. Indeed, opportunities for constructive struggle must be paired with a nurturing and supportive approach. Without this pairing, students won’t be able to grow. Instead, I am arguing that we encourage them to respond to moments of difficulty mindfully and purposefully. We need to carefully respond to moments of discomfort in our young people’s lives, rather than reacting or seeking to remove the obstacles they face. Our young people look to us in order to understand how to take thoughtful action when life poses challenges.
Being in a new class or having to do something outside of your comfort zone is hard. Doing hard things forces us all to grow and adapt. The mindset shifts that result from overcoming things that scare us translate directly into other areas of life. Students must do hard things to build resilience; they must try difficult subjects or be put in situations where they aren’t completely comfortable. Our goal, at the end of the day, isn’t to get them perfect score, but rather to prepare them for life.
If we remove constructive struggle from the lives of our students, we are allowing them to settle for comfort. Instead, we must teach them that we all face challenges, and it is how we respond and navigate them that dictates the benefits afford from them.
Olivia Hopwood
Acting Deputy Head of Middle School – Student Learning
