Keicha Serrano
Tues & Thurs 10:30AM Class
March 13, 2014
Can Persistence Be Taught?
Persistence is to continuously do something no matter how hard it is or who opposes. It means continuing to work toward a goal even when it takes a long time or things get tough. Without persistence, obstacles stop us; with persistence we learn from our failures. We work with those failures and use them as stepping stones instead of barriers. Persistence allows us to succeed even if we fail because in the long run we will be experienced and successful. Many give up easily, others don’t even try, and a few persist toward the goals that were set. To some persistence is nothing more than getting by the day while for others it means setting goals and accomplishing them no matter what obstacle they may face. We can be born and raised with persistence and we can also be taught it as well.
I grew up with persistence around me day by day. My parents taught me to set goals for myself and to meet each and one of them even if I failed. They always taught me that practice makes perfect and that there is only so many times you and do something wrong until you finally got it right. My parents have definitely been my role models when it comes to never giving up. We moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. without knowing a word of English just so my brother could get the medical attention he needed. My parents were told in Puerto Rico that my brother wasn’t going to live for long because he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his brain at the age of eight. My parents’ persistence got my brother live many more years, today he’s twenty-six years old. We faced many struggles along the way but we are here today and that’s what matters.
Parents teaching their kids persistence is very important because one day they’ll look up to what they did and understand that we get what we want when we fight for it. My parents fought for my brother’s life and he is still here with us today. It’s just like I read in a web blog called “The Science of Learning Blog” by Norene Wiesen “Students who have mastered persistence are able to work through challenges, deal constructively with failures and adversity, and achieve the goals they have set for themselves”. The best way to teach children persistence is by teaching them with the sport they love or any one thing they love to do. They will have the passion for it and they’ll try and try to get it right. Parents need to cheer for their kids even if they got it wrong because they tried. We as parents have to let our kids fail and not jump in even if it’s tempting. If they fall, let them get back up again on their own. Little things like that will teach kids to persist.
Some kids learn to persist at a very young age on their own. I read a classmate’s essay in which she had to learn how to walk again at the age of nine because of a car accident. Her doctors said it would be very rare that she would walk again. She kept trying to walk no matter how hard it was. It was hard for her to maintain hope as she says, “A few times I thought I was able to but I was mistaken, I fell and I cried, but I got back up.” Her parents were always there to support her and not letting her give up on walking again. Even though she was so young to even understand persistence, this shows that when you really want something you do anything it takes to accomplish it.
Persistence is in each and one of us, some more than others. I read another classmate’s essay about fixing his car. He knew he needed the car to get where he needed to and even if it was a tuff job he had to get it done. Even if he was losing his patience he didn’t give up, like when he says, “Every little bolt on this car tried my patience and continuously had me cursing at my car as if it were an actual person.” He ends up asking his cousin for help. They both end up finishing the process together. This person instead of giving up because he couldn’t do it on his own, he looked for help and that’s what persistence really is, it’s not giving up. Teaching kids persistence is important because when they grow up and face challenges like this person did, they will know how to face them. They will learn how to appreciate every little thing just like he did when he says, “All those hours spent banging my knuckles against metal as I tried to loosen a bolt in a tricky spot and all those shirts that went in the garbage from being covered in grease all seemed worth it.”
Persistence can be taught and it can also grow in you. Parents have to encourage their children to grow up strong and never be afraid to keep trying. It’s easy to show kids to persist, you can show them in board games, sports, learning to ride a bike, etc. When you persist, you learn. Learning new things is very important in life in order to adapt to new situations and the only way you learn is to persist. I’m very happy that my parents always told me to persist because today I am a very independent girl that won’t give up until I accomplish what I want. If I ever have kids in the future, I’m going to make sure they learn how to persist for their dreams.
Works Cited
- Wiesen, Norene. “Teaching Persistence: How to Build Student Stamina.” Teaching Persistence: How to Build Student Stamina. Scientific Learning Corporation, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
- “Teaching Young Kids Persistence.” GreatSchools. Great Schools Corporation, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
- “My Writings English 101.” My Writings English 101. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.