“It’s tough in the industry” is a line I have spent my career listening to – and yes, on occasion I’ve parroted it myself.
It is easy to see our challenge as educators (particularly in vocational fields) as moving our students from the gentle nurturing of school and further education to the ferocious fires of “industry”, and the nefarious, exploitative bosses they will inevitably meet on the journey to their chosen career.
In recent years, we have tried to temper this scenario, and build our students’ ability to cope in such hostile climes. I’d like to think that as educators we have moved on from the practice of emulating such pantomime villains ourselves, ditching the tradition of withering feedback and language deemed “good for them in the long run.” What has emerged in its stead though, is a curious word I have never been fully comfortable with: resilience.
I think I am beginning to understand why, and the fog began to clear after I received a diagnosis of autism earlier this year. I have spent much of my previous forty-three years considering myself a bit of a soft touch, prone to overthinking, and no doubt a prime candidate for a daily resilience supplement alongside my morning orange juice.
