I want you to think about two kids you work with…one who is resilient and happy and the other who is struggling and discouraged. Imagine if you interviewed each of them and you ask them to respond to each of these statements with a “yes” or a “no.”

• I think I am doing pretty well.
• I can think of many ways to get the things in life that are important to me.
• I am doing just as well as other kids my age.
• When I have a problem I can come up with lots of ways to solve it.
• I believe the things I have done in the past will help me in my future.
• Even when others want to quit, I want to keep trying.

Chances are the child who is resilient will respond with a “yes” to these items. The child who is struggling is more likely to say, “no”.

These items are from the Children’s Hope Scale and assess the hopefulness of adolescents.

I have no doubt you have the resilient and hopeful students in your classroom or youth program. And, I also believe you have the students who are stuck and discouraged.

Have you worried about the kids who are stuck? Have you wondered what you can do to create just a tiny ripple of hope with them? Maybe you have tried something to get them "unstuck" and it didn't seem to make any difference.

Don't give up!

You need to know that you DO have the opportunity and DO have the capability of instilling hope in your students.

This week's blog, Hopeful vs. Stuck, begins a 3-week blog series on how to instill hope in your students. Because, if you don't, well, then you have kids who are hope-less. And, that can lead to all the things you don't want for your students and their futures.

I'm confident (and hopeful!) you will read on...