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In my years of teaching English, I have seen two types of learners sit side by side in the same classroom. I remember Brian and Sarah clearly. Both of them once failed a spelling test. Brian threw his exercise book aside and muttered that English was simply not for him. Sarah looked upset too, but instead of giving up, she stayed after class to ask me about the words she had missed. The following week, when we had another test, Brian still struggled while Sarah had improved noticeably. The difference was not talent. It was resilience.

Resilience is what helps children bounce back from disappointments, adapt when things get tough, and keep trying even after failure. It is not about protecting them from every struggle. Instead, it is about letting them face challenges while standing by to guide them through.

Teaching has shown me that children often grow stronger when they are allowed to fall and rise again. Think of learning new vocabulary. Some pupils forget words repeatedly. The temptation as a teacher is to spoon-feed them answers. But when I encourage them to try, even if they stumble, the words eventually stick because they earned that victory themselves.

I recall David, another learner, who dreaded reading aloud in class. Each time he stammered, his classmates giggled. I made it a rule that mistakes in reading were simply steps toward fluency. Over time, David stopped shrinking in his seat and started volunteering to read. His confidence did not come from avoiding embarrassment but from facing it with support.

There was also Mary, who longed to be part of the school poetry club but was not selected. She was devastated at first. Yet with encouragement, she joined the debate team instead, where she discovered her voice and even won a school competition. What seemed like rejection became a redirection.

Resilience means facing struggles and still finding the strength to rise again. Our role as parents and teachers is to walk beside children, offering guidance without carrying them. Failure is never the end, it is only a step toward growth. The real question is, are we giving children the chance to stumble so they can truly learn to stand tall?