Up to the Challenge - Teaching Resilience and Responsibility in the Classroom

Format

Individual Presentation

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Irvington High School

First Presenter’s Email Address

foghorn@stanfordalumni.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Jay Jackson has spent over twenty years as a teacher or administrator with eighteen of those years at his current site in the Fremont Unified School District. Before becoming an educator, he served as the assistant wrestling coach for seven years at Stanford University. His focus in education is to help students simultaneously become more successful and happier versions of themselves as they take on challenges (those chosen and those thrust upon them). He accomplishes this by using simple diagrams that, when coupled with questions, allows him to integrate concepts of sports psychology into academic classes. These tools promote student introspection on how they, personally, can best achieve peak performance while remaining joyful. Jackson has led conversations and modeled the tools with individual educators of all subjects, departments, schools, sports leagues, and businesses throughout the United States to share his process. Organizations working with pre-k through adults have successfully included his tools into their classrooms or programs.

Location

Vernon

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

While every teacher has a story as to why they're in education, my tale is unique. I grew up with a dad who was my high school PE teacher and wrestling coach. He was also a former Green Beret who wanted his three kids to grow up gritty. To this end, he manufactured difficult but doable challenges for my brother, sister, and I. While he demanded a lot of us, he also offered an equal amount of support. Through this parenting style, I learned to enjoy and appreciate challenges and began to challenge myself with difficult tasks. When I started doing this, my dad backed off - he had accomplished his aim.

My brother, sister, and I all attended Stanford (I would argue due to my father's ability to guide us outside of our comfort zones). After wrestling there for four years, I stayed to be the assistant wrestling coach. During my first year of coaching, I had a stalker I had no knowledge of. That man got into my condominium, pulled a gun on me, tied my hands and feet together, and blindfolded me. After the initial shock of what was happening wore off, I treated this situation like a challenge my dad would give me or I would give myself. After three hours, I had tricked him, got my hands free, and subdued him (all with my feet still tied and blindfolded). As I held him down, I dialed 911 with my free hand and kept him down until police arrived.

While near-death situations are never good, it did afford me the opportunity to think deeply about what I wanted to do with my life. After a couple days of soul-searching, I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. In that role, I could do for young people what my dad did for me - namely, to enjoy and appreciate challenge. Since this event in 1996, this has been my unwavering passion.

After a number of years of experimentation, I now have a list of tools that an educator can use to foster student-led discussions about concepts of performance character, the mindset and behaviors best needed to take on a challenge. These tools are a combination of simple diagrams coupled with questions that help students be in charge of challenges instead of victims to them. As concepts of performance character are often ambiguous and difficult to grasp, diagrams give students a visual representation and a common language to discuss. The questions allow students to determine what works best for them - performance character is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.

I have over 20 diagrams that cover self-awareness, integrity (this falls under the moral character category, but it guides performance character), purpose, passion, positive thought, courage, commitment, and grit. Taking charge of these things leads to better achievement in all things, including academics. As educators, we all give students challenges daily - every lesson, assessment, speech, or project is a challenge. However, we rarely discuss with students why they're taking on those challenges or how to get through them when they become difficult. I want to help teachers to be very intentional about performance character by embedding concepts into their class. They can do this by using a diagram to discuss a concept for roughly ten minutes, giving a content-specific lesson or project that also assesses students on the concept, and by using the diagram again to reflect. I have a number of K-12 teachers in all subjects (including physical education and special education classes) across the country using the tools effectively in their classrooms to improve academic achievement.

If students can learn to take charge of the six tenets of performance character listed in the previous paragraph, they can reach flow state. Flow state is when your brain is so focused on a task that you don't have time to think about ego-induced thoughts. As your ego is concerned with comparison, ego-induced thoughts lead to depression when you don't feel you measure up or anxiety when you're concerned about not having the desired outcome. As your mind is only focused on the task, flow equates to enjoyment. As a teacher, my goal every period is to lead a class that is surprised by the bell - they're so engrossed in whatever we're doing that they're not thinking about anything else. It hasn't happened yet where an entire class is in flow state, but it's my daily challenge that gets me excited to go to school in the morning. If I'm intentional about performance character concepts in my classroom and help students learn to take charge of their social and emotional skills as they apply to challenge, students can not only become more successful but happier as well.

Brief Program Description

Help students learn to take control of challenges rather than being victims to them. This session offers K-12 educators tools to foster deep student-led discussions about performance character, the mindset and behaviors needed to best take on a challenge. By thinking about how they can personally best attack challenges, students can realize more success and joy.

Summary

For the first part of the presentation/workshop, educators will learn about performance character (the mindset and behaviors necessary to best take on a challenge successfully and with joy) and understand the necessary components of it (self-awareness, integrity, purpose, passion, positive mindset, courage, commitment, grit, and flow).

Next, the presenter will model the usage of the tools that an educator can use in the classroom to help students learn to be in control of concepts of performance character. By looking at a simple diagram that creates a common visual and language for discussion, educators in small groups will receive questions to talk about a performance character concept. (A happy byproduct of modeling allows teachers to think about how they might improve their pedagogical skills.). Before moving onto another diagram, the group will discuss as a large group. Time will determine how many tools will be used.

After discussing a diagram or diagrams, educators will have the opportunity to brainstorm a content-specific lesson they could couple with a specific diagram to embed the concept into their curriculum. Teachers can think of preexisting lessons and/or create new ones.

At the end, educators may ask questions about the process.

It's important to note that, after the initial part, the remainder of the presentation is interactive and engaging. As it's important to model proactive teaching methods, most of the presentation is a small-group discussion rather than a lecture.

Evidence

I have written a book through Solution Tree called "Up to the Challenge." As Solution Tree is focused on research, the book contains many references to books and studies to corroborate my beliefs.

If you're looking for qualitative evidence from teachers using the tools, please contact the following teachers from West Virginia and Colorado respectively:

Jennifer Brazier - PreK and elementary teacher, Clarksburg Children's House

jbrazier@hotmail.com

Stacy Howard - Middle school teacher, Montessori Children's House of Denver

stacynhoward24@gmail.com

I can provide you with more names if needed.

Learning Objective 1

Understand performance character and its components.

Learning Objective 2

Further understand concepts of performance character through modeling of tools (diagrams coupled with questions).

Learning Objective 3

Learn how to lead discussions with tools and how to embed them in lessons to be very intentional about adding performance character to their class.

Keyword Descriptors

Resilience, Achievement, Social and Emotional Learning, Grit

Presentation Year

2025

Start Date

3-4-2025 1:00 PM

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Mar 4th, 1:00 PM

Up to the Challenge - Teaching Resilience and Responsibility in the Classroom

Vernon

Help students learn to take control of challenges rather than being victims to them. This session offers K-12 educators tools to foster deep student-led discussions about performance character, the mindset and behaviors needed to best take on a challenge. By thinking about how they can personally best attack challenges, students can realize more success and joy.