(The forthcoming book: From the Principal’s Desk – A Journey of Lessons)
Dr Arun Prakash
Resilience isn’t something children are born with. It’s built through experiences—some joyous, some challenging, and yes, many frustrating. Teaching children resilience doesn’t mean shielding them from failures but guiding them to see those failures as stepping stones. And how best to do that? Through stories.
Let me share some stories—of historical figures, timeless literature, and my own life. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that lessons wrapped in stories stay with us far longer than plain advice.
The Inventor Who Never Gave Up
When we talk about resilience, Thomas Edison is a shining example. He is famously quoted as saying, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” While the exact number of experiments he conducted to perfect the light bulb remains a topic of debate—some say 1,000, others suggest up to 25,000—the lesson is clear: failure wasn’t an obstacle for Edison; it was a necessary step toward success.
Imagine facing failure 10,000 times. Most of us would give up long before. But Edison didn’t see these attempts as failures. Instead, he saw them as progress. Each experiment, no matter how disappointing, brought him one step closer to the breakthrough that would light up the world.
This is the mindset we need to instil in our children. Each failure is a lesson, each stumble a step forward. Let’s teach them to see challenges not as the end but as part of the process—just as Edison did. After all, the light bulb wasn’t just invented; it was built one “failure” at a time.
The Boy Who Neglected Exams
Now, let me share a story from my own life. In Class IX, I scored a grand total of 8 out of 40 in my science test. Yes, you heard that right—8! And no, it wasn’t because I didn’t understand the material. I just couldn’t be bothered to prepare for exams. My habit was to devour textbooks as soon as they arrived and finish them in 10 days flat. After that, I relied on memory and curiosity, not on revision.
When my test results came, I wasn’t devastated. I wasn’t even sad. Instead, I sat down with the book and realized that I could solve every problem I had gotten wrong. It wasn’t a lack of knowledge—it was sheer negligence.
That moment stayed with me. Not because I became a model student afterward (I didn’t), but because it taught me an important lesson: knowledge is meaningful only when revisited and reinforced. Exams weren’t just about grades; they were a tool to make me rethink and refine what I had learned.
In the next test, I scored 39 out of 40. This, however, is something I emphasize to students today: revise, revisit, and reflect. Knowledge isn’t static—it grows when nurtured.
The Kite That Kept Falling
There was a boy in my village who loved flying kites but couldn’t keep them in the air. No matter how hard he tried, they’d crash. Frustrated, he’d pull harder on the string, thinking it would stabilize the kite. It didn’t.
One day, an older boy told him, “You’re pulling too hard. Let the wind do its work.” The boy listened, loosened the string, and suddenly, his kite soared higher than everyone else’s.
This story stayed with me. Resilience isn’t always about trying harder; sometimes, it’s about knowing when to let go and when to hold on. Children, too, must learn this balance—to adjust, adapt, and trust the wind to carry them forward.
Eklavya and the Power of Self-Reliance
Eklavya wasn’t a prince. In fact, he came from a humble background, which made his story even more remarkable. When Guru Dronacharya refused to teach him archery, saying his school was only for royals, Eklavya didn’t sulk or complain. He created a statue of Dronacharya in the forest and practiced every day.
Soon, Eklavya became the greatest archer of his time. His story teaches us resilience in its purest form: finding a way forward, no matter how many doors are shut.
Imagine if Eklavya had thought, “I’ll never be good enough without a teacher.” What if he’d spent all his time blaming the system? Instead, he adapted, trusted himself, and found his own path. This is what we need to teach our children: when faced with obstacles, find your own statue in the forest.
Lessons from Zorba the Greek
When I met Amrita Pritam years ago, she suggested I read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. Both books became life-changing for me.
Zorba the Greek is about a man who lives life with unparalleled passion. Zorba teaches us that life is full of failures, and they’re not something to fear. In one part of the story, Zorba tries to build a timber railway but fails spectacularly. Instead of despairing, he dances. Why? Because he knows life isn’t about perfection—it’s about the experience.
This is the lesson I want children to learn: own your failures. Laugh at them if you can. They’re proof that you tried something new. Zorba’s joy and resilience remind us that setbacks are not the end—they’re moments to reflect, adapt, and move forward with gusto.
Owning the Light
In The Fountainhead, Howard Roark stands for integrity. He refuses to compromise his vision, even when the world mocks him. He reminds us that resilience isn’t just about surviving failures; it’s about staying true to yourself.
I often think about how these lessons apply to children today. Resilience doesn’t mean bending to every challenge; it means standing tall, adapting when necessary, and holding onto your core principles. This is what we must teach them—not just to survive, but to thrive without losing themselves.
The Heat in Everest’s Cold
Imagine trying to heat water on Mount Everest with a tiny coil. No matter how much effort you put in, the surrounding cold will cancel out most of the heat. Does that mean you’ve failed? No. It means you need a different approach.
Children face similar situations. Sometimes, their efforts seem to lead nowhere. Resilience isn’t about brute force; it’s about assessing the environment, finding alternatives, and not giving up. Let’s teach them this critical skill: when one path doesn’t work, find another—but don’t stop moving.
Standing Tall: A Message to Parents
As parents, we often want to protect our children from failure. But remember, a butterfly only learns to fly by struggling out of its cocoon. If we cut the cocoon open, we rob it of its strength.
Our role isn’t to clear every obstacle for our children. It’s to help them face challenges with courage, adapt when necessary, and stay true to themselves. Share these stories with your children. Let them know it’s okay to fail. Let them see that resilience is about getting up, again and again, stronger each time.
And when they rise—and they will—you’ll know that every stumble was worth it.
Next: The impact of emotional intelligence on academic success.
