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Beyond Resilience and GRIT

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“Resilience” and “grit” are often portrayed as positive qualities students must cultivate to succeed—especially those from marginalized communities who face systemic barriers. Yet these constructs can become weapons, telling learners to simply “endure” oppression rather than challenging the conditions that cause harm. Beyond Resilience and GRIT interrogates how these terms can uphold oppressive structures by placing responsibility on individuals without addressing systemic injustices. In this workshop, participants will reimagine approaches that center healing, mutual support, and institutional accountability, shifting focus from mere perseverance to genuine liberation for students.

“Resilience” and “grit” are often portrayed as positive qualities students must cultivate to succeed—especially those from marginalized communities who face systemic barriers. Yet these constructs can become weapons, telling learners to simply “endure” oppression rather than challenging the conditions that cause harm. Beyond Resilience and GRIT interrogates how these terms can uphold oppressive structures by placing responsibility on individuals without addressing systemic injustices. In this workshop, participants will reimagine approaches that center healing, mutual support, and institutional accountability, shifting focus from mere perseverance to genuine liberation for students.

Key Focus Areas

  1. Examining the Resilience & GRIT Myth

    • Understand how popular narratives around “never give up” can obscure systemic inequities, unjust policies, or exploitative labor.

  2. Unmasking Systemic Oppression

    • Identify ways in which resilience discourse blames students for not coping well enough, instead of tackling root causes like racism, poverty, or underfunded schools.

  3. Liberatory Alternatives

    • Explore collaborative, justice-oriented methods—like community care, collectivized struggle, and institutional reform—that uplift students without normalizing adversity.

Who Should Attend?

  • K–12 & Higher Ed Teachers
    Ready to challenge how classroom practices or reward systems reward “toughness” while ignoring structural harms students navigate.

  • Counselors & Social Workers
    Interested in reframing how they discuss resilience or grit with students, ensuring they offer systemic support, not just personal coping strategies.

  • School Administrators & Policy Makers
    Committed to designing policies that reduce the burden on students to “push through,” by fostering equitable resource distribution and supportive infrastructures.

  • Community & Nonprofit Educators
    Looking to integrate a more holistic, transformative approach to motivation and support, rooted in collective empowerment rather than individualized perseverance.

Learning Objectives

  1. Deconstruct Constructs of Resilience & GRIT

    • Recognize how emphasizing individual perseverance without addressing structural barriers perpetuates systemic oppression.

  2. Recenter Student Agency & Collective Support

    • Learn ways to shift from solely teaching students to “just cope” toward frameworks that celebrate activism, communal care, and mutual aid.

  3. Design Anti-Oppressive Strategies

    • Discover practical actions—like rethinking assessments, offering alternative project formats, or forging community partnerships—that disrupt the expectation of endless endurance.

Why It Matters

When we champion grit without naming oppressive forces, we risk sustaining the very structures that marginalize students. Rather than congratulating learners for surviving adversity, Beyond Resilience and GRIT prompts educators and allies to tackle root inequities, foster healing spaces, and expand notions of success. By redefining resilience through collaboration and systemic advocacy, we ensure students aren’t left to manage racism, poverty, or discrimination alone—but instead engage in liberatory learning experiences that affirm their worth, creativity, and power to change systems.

Is This Workshop For You?

  • Concerned that calling students to be “gritty” overlooks the real impacts of bias, underfunding, or trauma?
    We’ll show how to redirect efforts from “just endure more” to “dismantle the source of suffering.”

  • Noticing that resilience strategies often celebrate students pushing through stress while ignoring the emotional toll?
    Explore de-stigmatizing language around seeking help, building community, and addressing mental health needs collectively.

  • Looking to transform personal grit coaching into systemic solutions that lighten the load for marginalized learners?
    Learn how to integrate policy changes, resource reallocation, and equitable pedagogy that address students’ actual conditions.

  • Ready to expand beyond the “growth mindset” discourse and adopt a more justice-rooted approach to student empowerment?
    We’ll guide you in balancing student agency with accountability for institutions and communities that perpetuate oppression.

If these points resonate, “Beyond Resilience and GRIT” provides both the critical lens and actionable tools to reframe how we support students, ensuring they thrive not just in spite of adversity, but through collective liberation and systemic change.