RESOURCEFULNESS:
Using what you have to get the job done
There
are many ways to approach getting a job done. The typical approach is to
evaluate exactly what needs to be done and what is required to do it. We all
dream of having unlimited materials to do the job easily and efficiently. More
often though, there are significant limitations in materials, time, and money.
How can teaching kids to be resourceful build their character?
Limits are
recognized and overcome. Discouragement is a large hurdle to clear when there
doesn’t seem to be enough available to get the job done. When the limitations
are overcome using resourcefulness, the accomplishment seems even sweeter.
Creativity is
encouraged.
Producing a solution from limited materials fuels a child’s awareness of
his/her creativity. Success is a natural encouragement for future efforts.
Children develop insight into how they can use their individual talents to
creatively respond to new challenges.
The process is
valued as much as the product. The most valuable aspect of doing a
job is building a set of problem-solving tools. The process becomes
particularly important when circumstances are less than ideal. Personal
confidence grows when children see how previously developed methods from other
areas of their lives can be applied to new situations. For example, how can the
discipline it takes for gymnastics apply to schoolwork, or vice versa?
Children
are gifted with imaginations that amuse and amaze adults. During the time when
this gift is most active, we can help children see past a lack of resources to
develop and maintain an approach to life that uses what they have to get the
job done.
© 2009 Core Essentials, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.coreessentials.org.